The Dish: New Orleans Food

So this technically is not a specific dish or food, but it's my blog so I am breaking my own rules. After a recent excursion down to New Orleans for a weekend of fun, I had the rare opportunity to try a number of different famous Cajun dishes and restaurants. Since this is the only part of the trip I can really talk about (and remember), I will try to go through as much of it as possible. Our first stop was an old place called Mother's. The restaurant is a famous old New Orleans institution, where there are no pretensions or fancy food, just good home cooking. It's the type of place, like Katz's, that when you walk in you feel like you are going to get some old world home cooking like you grew up with. While there I got to try two famous dishes that just bleed New Orleans - Debris and a Catfish Po Boy. For those of you that aren't familiar, debris is the pieces of Roast Beef that falls off into the drippings while roasting. It is incredibly tender, juicy and tastes succulent whether topping a sandwich or with a side of grits. The catfish po boy sounds like a simple concept, but near perfect execution is tough. Delicately grilled with cajun seasoning and on a fresh french roll with dressing, creole mustard, tartar sauce, lettuce and pickles, it was both delicate, filling and savory all at the same time.

Our trip later that day was a little out of the way from Bourbon street, but apparently well known - Jacquesimos Cafe. The table shared braised beef cheeks, some kind of alligator crawfish cheescake, and fried calamari. The beef cheeks were somewhat lacking in flavor, and the fried calamari was, well, fried calamari. Honestly, I don't think fried calamari really gets me all that excited anymore now that every single restaurant in the world seems to have it on the menu. The savory cheescake, however, was delicious and almost eye opening because you just couldn't quite place what the ingredients were, but knew it was amazing with every bite. Ironically, the best part of the appetizers was probably the corn bread muffins topped with fresh parsley and garlic. They were so good we kept asking for more, and a certain someone actually stole a bunch in a napkin for later. My main course was Cajun BBQ Shrimp with mashed sweet potatoes and smothered cabbage. The sides were tasty, and the bbq sauce was a great mix of spicy and sweet, but the shrimp themselves were a little over cooked and despite at first liking it, the heads being on eventually just led to frustration.

After that eating extravaganza, and the drinking that occurred after, we had to get something to help the hangovers the next morning. Luckily, we found a Po Boy place that had something called a Mufelatta. Basically it is the biggest sandwich you will ever see on a great french bread with salami, ham, cheese and a briney, tongue tingling, olive salad all pressed down and heated until every bite explodes in your mouth with flavor. Not only did I finish the entire plate and all the olive salad that had fallen out, but I kept thinking about it the rest of the day wanting another. Luckily, beignets from Cafe Du Monde were able to distract me from eating way too much. Honestly, beignets are not my thing, but I can see why they are famous for their flavor and texture at Cafe Du Monde.

To top off the eating adventure in New Orleans we went to an old place called Mulates. Very much a family style restaurant, we feasted on everything and anything they could fry up for us. We had fried alligator, fried crawfish, fried catfish, fried oysters, fried clams, french fries, and fried crab cakes. Basically the only things we had that weren't fried were frogs legs, grilled alligator and some jambalaya. The grilled alligator actually convinced me that it was better fried, because grilled it comes off a little too chewy and gamey. All in all, I was happy to get more gator, and happy to finally have some crawfish so that I could claim that I ate pretty much everything New Orleans is known for in a single weekend.

After this trip, I don't know if I will need to eat for quite a while. Luckily, I doubt that is really true.

Beer of the Week: Brahma

With the chilly winter weather upon us, I thought it would be nice to talk about a beer that just makes me think of summer, partying and beautiful women. Brahma is one of the most popular beers from Brazil, and whether due to its unique bottle shape and lack of label, or simply its refreshing flavor, many that see it want more after just a few sips. Brahma is a pale lager that has a slight caramel flavor, although it probably is hard to distinguish from the flavor of a Corona (but don't add any limes). It is easy sipping, and according to the company it embodies the creative spirit known as "Ginga". How it does this exactly, I have no idea. Perhaps drink enough and you come up with creative things the bottle shape reminds you of? Most importantly, if you are going to drink Brahma make sure it is ice cold. And when I mean ice cold, I mean your hands should feel frozen after hold the bottle for only a few sips.

Number of Beers Drank in one Sitting: 4
Pair With Food: Chips & Salsa

Brazilian Curves

Joe's Shanghai

After a long hiatus due to a busy new job, lack of internet, and pretty much any excuse I can think of that will not let me admit to general laziness I have decide to get this rolling again. Sadly, over the last 6 months I have eaten in numerous places I would love to write about, but the details are now to few and far between to write coherently. Luckily, I had the pleasure of some fantastic Chinese food on Christmas Eve at Joe's Shanghai that inspired me to return to writing.

My friend swears by Joe's Shanghai, and as any New Yorker knows, everyone has their "best" Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Plus, any New Yorker knows that to Jewish people, Chinese food is a close second when it comes to a religious experience. After Joe's Shanghai's surprisingly fresh, delicious, and well portioned food I found myself questioning if it should still be second on the religious experience scale.

Our party of seven had to wait an hour outside on Christmas Eve, but my understanding was that this was standard. Upon being seated, before we could even open the menu the waiter asked us if we wanted soup dumplings (the house specialty). Never having experienced such a treat, but a lover of all things dumpling, I hesitantly asked my friend how many orders should we get. He is quite the dumpling connoisseur, so confidently he said 1 crab and 1 pork. As two other people stared at our noisy group (tables are shared, unless your group is 9 or 10 people), we excitedly debated the number of dishes we needed, and how to evenly balance them between vegetable, meat, and if fish should even be an option. The order ended up like this:

Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce
Double Cooked Pork
Sesame Chicken
Beef with Broccoli
Vegetable Lo-Mien
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

To top this all off, we of course had to get multiple rounds of Tsingtao, which I imagine is the official Jewish drink of Christmas. No sooner had we placed our order than the soup dumplings had arrived. To attempt to describe these moist flavorful nuggets of steamed goodness probably won't do them justice. Although the crab flavor was not that distinct, the meat was well flavored, cooked perfectly, and a delightful mouthful. The dough of the dumpling was steamed, a little chewy, but by no means the thick, flavorless shell that too many restaurants serve. The highlight of the dish is of course the soup that is within the dumpling. The broth is exquisite, with a strong, but not overpowering lemon flavor. Amazingly the rest of the dumpling is infused with this flavor, but still manages to hit your tongue with all the other tastes that the full dumpling provides. I could probably eat a bowl of just the broth, and may have to see if this is on the menu next time.

After the amazing first course, and the arguing over who got the 8th dumpling, the cold noodles with sesame sauce were an extreme disappointment. The noodles were a bit overcooked, and the sauce was watery and tasteless. Perhaps some people like spaghetti noodles and a very liquidy sesame sauce, but me, I like thinner noodles, and a sauce that sticks to the noodles with a distinct flavor and even a slight hint of spice. The best, in my mind, are a balance between a little spicy, a little sweet, and plenty savory. With this disappointment firmly behind me, we prepared for the main courses, which came out seemingly all at once. The double cooked pork was excellent, in a nice brown sauce, and featuring tender crispy pork with a mix of your standard veggies. The nice surprise was the still crispy cabbage. This is such an underused vegetable in cooking, and it adds a distinct flavor and texture that made a good dish great.

The beef with broccoli was tasty, and the meat of higher quality than I expected. I must admit, however, I'm not a big fan of this dish in general, so thank god for the spicy red pepper sauce on the table to give this a little bit of a kick. The same must be said for the vegetable lo-mien. I don't know how vegetarians do it, but I would get pretty bored eating this dish without chunks of meat on a regular basis. There was nothing I could point to that made the dish bad, and in fact it was distinct for not being greasy at all compared to your average lo-mien dishes. Honestly though, would you waste prime stomach space during a hearty meal on this dish? I think not.

Despite everything else that came before it, the two highlights of the main meal (dumplings not included) were the water spinach with garlic, and the sesame chicken. I know, sesame chicken is not exactly fine dining, but when made right it really stands out. The chicken was all white meat, no fat, and was fried until crispy with a batter that actually accentuated the flavor of the chicken instead of muting it. On the side was fresh green blanched broccoli, still with a slight snap to it. One of my biggest pet peeves is Chinese food where the meat is dumped on top of broccoli, and it is a clear after thought, usually over cooked or greasy. Topping off the chicken and broccoli was a deliciously sweet and tangy sauce that was both instantly recognizable as sesame chicken sauce, while being surprising at every bite. Perhaps it was that the sauce was gooey, without being overwhelmingly full of corn starch, and hit the right balance between sweet and salty that it caught my attention. Whatever the reason, it goes down as the best sesame chicken I have ever had, and I wish we had 2 orders instead of one. The other great dish was actually a side dish. As mentioned in the past, I love a side order of spinach, and the water spinach with garlic was perfectly cooked, bright green and fresh, and flavored with salt and garlic. All in all, I could have just eaten the spinach and the chicken and been happy all night.

Despite all the food that had been consumed, a debate ensued about what we should have for dessert. After a number of minutes of crazy ideas, we decided the best dessert was another order of pork soup dumplings. The smiles and giggles of glee that everyone expressed as they showed up at our table meant we had made the right decision. We also clearly made the right decision to go to Joe's Shanghai on Christmas. I know I will be making more trips to Chinatown soon, and well before the next Jews night out.

Take a trip to dumpling heaven.

Restaurant: Calle Ocho

Trips to the upper west side are not a common occurrences for me, particularly just to eat dinner. The menu, however, and a gift certificate burning a whole in my wallet convinced me to head to Calle Ocho to try the unusual twists on recognizable Latin flavors and dishes. The restaurant has a cozy and chic interior by the bar, where many people simply sat around sipping brightly colored drinks and checking out if anyone was checking them out. Once led into the main dining room, you walk out into a huge cavernous space with loud conversations and waiters running all around. You get the feeling like you walked into a slightly off fine dining restaurant that could be in Latin America, but could also be in California or Miami. This odd effect wears off quickly as soon as you get a chance to study the long drink and food menus.

My dining companion and I wanted to try as much food as possible, and both had 3 different drinks each. Of the 3, none really hit the spot for me like the classic Mojito. Every other drink I tried was just way too sweet and girly, with some even rimmed with sugar. Luckily the food distracted me from the drinks enough to forget how sweet they were. We started with a carnitas and pineapple soft taco platter and a combo of four ceviches. The carnitas were sweet and savory, which would be a common theme throughout the meal. The meat was completely shredded, moist and flavorful. Served with different salsas, pickled onions, radish and cilantro, each taco could be made the way the individual liked it and gobbled up in about two or three bites. The ceviche sampler was a mixed bag. Not all the ceviches we wanted could be a part of the sample (the oysters specifically), and another was mysteriously not available (despite it being early in the night). We ended up ordering the Mariscos, Tropical, and Hondureno. We ordered a fourth, but they mistakenly brought two Mariscos. The Hondureno was far and away the best, combining tuna, coconut milk and pickled jalapenos. The Mariscos, which had lobster, shrimp, lemon and lime were amazing, although as expected, you never get enough lobster in the order. Although the ingredients of the Tropical should have wowed me, the combo of shrimp, roast tomato, mango and other citrus was just overwhelming and instead of the tastes melding together, they just all fought each other.

For main courses we shared the Paella and the Corvina. The Paella was huge, and had no shortage of lobster, scallops or shrimp. In fact, it actually came with 1/2 a lobster sitting right on top. You can't really argue with any Paella that starts with 1/2 a lobster, and has just the right combo of spice and savory flavor to warm your stomach. The Corvina was basically a large piece of chilean seabass, mixed vegetables and a delightfully seasoned broth that was surprisingly flavorful. After just one or two bites I couldn't get enough the perfectly cooked fish and vegetables gently mingling in a sauce that to the average observer looked bland and unassuming. I couldn't pinpoint the flavors of the sauce given its Spanish background (and my lack of knowledge about the cuisine), but I definitely plan on returning for further investigation. A nice side addition was the sweet and green plantains. This sweet and savory combo caused fights over who got the last of each, and should always be at the table when dining at Calle Ocho.

Last but not least, we shared a beautifully prepared and tasting dessert of toasted coconut ice cream, placed within a thin chocolate shell and surrounded by a deep red and almost too sweet raspberry sauce. Although decadent, how can anyone not enjoy the combo of coconut, chocolate and raspberry? It made for a great end to a delicious meal of fancy Latin food that might make a trip back uptown worth it.

A reason to go to the Upper West Side

Restaurant: Grand Central Oyster Bar

Every year around the beginning of June my father and I make plans to head to the Grand Central Oyster Bar because the fresh herring fleet shipment comes in all the way from the Netherlands. The Oyster Bar is a hidden treasure nestled in the revamped subterranean depths of Grand Central and has that unique combination of old New York and modern New York. We always skip the fancier bar and dining room and opt for the regular restaurant. In the past I used to drop in after work for a quick bite at one of the counters, but this was always in the non-herring season.

The excellent chowders and raw oysters are always a draw for me, and up until about 10 years ago would have started my meal. Since that breakthrough day I always get what my dad gets, 2 fresh Dutch herring with the trimmings. At the Oyster Bar this means two boned fillets with finely chopped onion, chives and hard boiled egg. This simple combination of extremely fresh flavorful fish with a little of each trimming makes for something that really is hard to describe. The fish is silky and buttery, almost melting in your mouth with each bite. And, despite the strong flavor of onion, chive and egg, the herring bursts through with a strong distinct flavor that is far from "fishy". Paired with a pint of Heineken, it's the ideal Dutch snack, in the heart of Manhattan. Almost always those first two herring are gone, and we are quickly ordering a third and, sometimes even a fourth. Needless to say it is quite a tradition, and is not something I would recommend eating prior to being in any sort of social situation where someone will be close enough to smell your breath.

Main courses are what you would expect at an old school seafood restaurant. The fish is extremely fresh, perfectly cooked, and the star of any plate, not the accent. Almost every fish, crab, lobster, oyster and clam can be ordered any way you want it from blackened to grilled or fried. Sometimes the simplest preparation is the best way to enjoy fish, and the Oyster Bar does this better than anyone. Usually the only question you need to answer is which type of fish do I want, Mahi Mahi or Dorade to name just a few, and do I want it Cajun or broiled with a spritz of lemon? Either way you can't go wrong. My traditional main course, however, is always fried oysters and french fries. The freshness of the oysters, and the light crispy batter they are fried in make for bite size morsels that taste more like oysters and less like a fried food. The standard thin cut crispy fries are nothing to rave about, but always manage to get finished despite themselves. Simply put, squeeze some lemon on the oysters and skip the ketchup or tartar sauce and just enjoy a basic pleasure in life that everyone should indulge in at least once a year.

I probably shouldn't be telling you this part, but if you ever do make it to the Oyster Bar no meal is complete without exploring a strange oddity of architecture outside the restaurant. Due to the high arches, and marble interior, if you stand in the corners diagonally across from each other and speak into the wall you can talk with the other person like they are whispering in your ear. Despite the distance, you feel like you are having a conversation with them right next to you. Of course there is also the fun of other people not in the know looking at you oddly like you might be crazy or in need of a bathroom.

Real herring, not something in a cream sauce

Restaurant: Blue Hill

So this is my first post in a while due to busy times at work and a general lack of time due to the summer. I was lucky enough to secure a 7pm table through a family friend on the Friday of my birthday at Blue Hill in the west village. Nestled into a little nook right off Washington Square park, you would never even know that Blue Hill was there unless you looked for it. Missing Blue Hill, however, would really be a shame. The chef Dan Barber's cuisine, mainly based on farm fresh ingredients from their farm on the old Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown, is clean, tasty and of course, small portioned. Sometimes he gets a little carried away with the whole "farm fresh" idea (see the amuse of a radish), but the tastes, and flavor combinations almost always makes your surprised that what you are eating doesn't have more ingredients.

The atmosphere is somehow fancy and rustic at the same time, and tables are packed somewhat tight. Prices are of course on the high end of the spectrum given the demand just to get a table. Luckily the food and quality of ingredients more than make up for the price. Of all the appetizers we sampled, the "This Morning's Farm Egg" was far and away the best. A softly poached farm egg, with mushrooms, greens, and silky smooth herb broth melted together into one delicious bite after another. Each bite included a little bit of egg, some mushroom and the delicious herb broth to create a flavor explosion that you don't expect given the somewhat basic ingredients.

For main courses we shared 3 dishes - seared salmon, grilled hamachi and Hudson valley guinea hen. Also, the requisite sides of sauteed spinach and crispy bok choy were of course included. While the hamachi was nice, and the parsnip delicious, it was not a dish that I will remember months from now. The salmon was very delicate, and worth a second "taste" despite my mom saying no. The real standout, however was the Hudson valley guinea hen. Forgetting all the sides and other elements of the dish, the tenderness of the meat made me for the first time in my life want guinea hen again. Pair the perfectly cooked meat with the carrots, spices and trumpet mushrooms, and you had a dish that sparked magic in every bite.

For dessert, as has become my tradition, the cheese plate made an appearance. It was a wonderful selection of various locally grown cheeses, all with some nice bread. The other desserts we tried were quite a bit more decadent. The steamed cheesecake with dark chocolate, maldon salt and roasted peanuts split the table. I loved the almost pudding like taste of the cheesecake, but did not care for the saltiness from the peanuts. Others, however, loved the sweet and salty taste, and the added depth of the roasted flavor of the peanuts. To each their own I guess! Last we had the chocolate bread pudding, with chocolate sauce and banana ice cream. Personally, I have never been much of a bread pudding fan, but my mom loved it, and she has had quite a lot of bread puddings. I will, however vouch for the banana ice cream, which was delicious.

All in all the meal was excellent. Great service, amazing simple but flavorful dishes executed almost to perfection. The price is steep, so it will be another special occasion until I go back, but in the meantime, best of luck scoring a prime reservation!

The Rockefeller's Would Approve

The Dish: Buffets

My love affair with buffet style food began when I was about 8 years old in Amsterdam. While not old enough to truly "enjoy" the city, it is where I first learned the meaning of the word "buffet" and the phrase "all you can eat". I later discovered that all you can eat was clearly a relative term, since I can eat a lot and others don't know what they are doing when attacking such a large amount of food. Since that glorious moment 18 years ago I have experienced numerous other buffets, some good, some bad, some wedding related. In all I have developed a clear set of rules and ways to judge a buffet. These rules have allowed me to maximize my eating of food so that I can enjoy the full buffet as much as possible.

Recently, I somehow managed to attend two separate all you can eat buffets in a two day period. While my body was not happy with me, each meal was a lot of fun and reminded me why everyone loves a good buffet. The first meal was actually at the highly underrated Diamond Club at Shea Stadium. Before a 1pm game my friend and I sat down to a plethora of eating options. Since it was still early the Diamond Club does the right thing by offering you both breakfast and lunch options. I believe in some far off lands this is known by the catchy phrase of "brunch". While I didn't participate in either, there was an omelet station and a crepe station with each one made to order. The only breakfast I had was a delicious mini bagel and lox with capers and onions. The Jew in me can't resist that at anytime of day, especially for breakfast. My main 2 rules during a buffet are to avoid the breads, pastas and carb heavy dishes, and to make sure you take a little of everything to figure out what is your favorite. As you can see in both of the pictures, I loaded up two big plates trying to figure out what was the best. Most all you can eat buffets will have their standout dishes, and their really disappointing dishes. The roast beef let me down, as did the Cajun catfish, but the pork loin, spicy coleslaw and BBQ pork "wings" were exceptional. Rarely did I go near the vast bread selections, nor did I venture into the mac and cheese land. The Israeli couscous salad, cherry tomato mozzarella and pesto salad, and the roast corn were also worth second trips. The carrots, sugar snap peas and other veggies, as usual, were a bit under seasoned, and the creole rice was very dry. Thanks, however, to my rules, I was able to weed out the so so food items, eat what I liked the most, and still pack it all in to get 4 full plates worth of food...and an ice cream sundae.

The very next day I was at BB Kings Blues Club & Grill in Times Square for a mothers day brunch. While my mom was excited for the Harlem Gospel Choir performance, I was licking my lips staring at the southern style all you could eat buffet. Sadly the choir's performance turned out to be what I enjoyed the most. I should have expected low quality given it was Times Square and tourists are everywhere, but a big part of me really hoped the food would be of high quality because it was comfort food. I again skipped the mac and cheese (I may be the only person to do this) and BBQ hot wings (I didn't want to get it all over my Sunday best) and went right for the fried chicken, fried catfish, grits, candied yams, collard greens, mashed potatoes, and of course the required dressings of gravy, ketchup, and tartar sauce. After the first plate I instantly regretted getting the yams, which were so sickeningly sweet I went through four glasses of water. The grits were delicious, as were the collard greens (pork fat seems to be the key here). The fried chicken had nice flavor, with some sort of subtle sweetness, but it didn't stay crispy in a hot tray sitting out on the buffet line. Many contestants on Top Chef have learned the hard way that heavy batter and fried foods don't do well when they aren't served right away. Interestingly, the fried catfish was my favorite part of the meal. Maybe due to its light thin batter, or that it was really popular, it stayed crispy and delicious to the last bite. I am a little biased, however, because I love catfish. I think I could eat it for dinner 7 days a week. Or maybe I was just really happy to have good catfish after such disappointing Cajun style the day before. Either way, I went back for thirds.

Although one buffet was great, and the other just good, there is something to be said for the fun and excitement of so many different choices and things to taste. There is something to also be said for the American way of all you can eat buffets. Similar to everything else we seem to do, wasting food, and eating too much of it go hand in hand with a standard type of meal that we have. I sometimes wish that places actually limited the number of times you can keep going back up for food, or at the very least require you to finish what is on your plate like the all you can east sushi restaurants. In any case, I will always love a buffet, and you can most likely find me cutting to the front of the line to get the freshest food they put down.

Buffet - French for feeeed me