Happy Birthday to Me!!!

RRR came in for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. After a drink-fest Friday night at the Irish Rogue, we decided to work off our hangover with a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge and lunch in Brooklyn Heights.

Strolling down Montague Street, we eventually decided on lunch at Taze, a Mediterranean Turkish restaurant.

We asked to be seated on Taze's quaint back patio and started off with an order of babaganus and pastrami-humus. The smoky eggplant in the babaganus was delicious and quite different than other versions I have tasted.

We were intrigued by the "pastrami-humus" and basically it was a few slices of lean pastrami over humus with a drizzle of olive oil. The pastrami was also nice and smoky, more reminiscent of bacon than true blue pastrami but quite interesting in texture and taste. We were given hunks of foccacia-type bread versus pita which I think helped us not to overindulge before our main course arrived.

We shared the mixed grill which included shaved lamb (or at least that's what we THINK we were eating), chicken, Turkish meatballs, doner kebab, rice, green salad and a grilled pepper. The yogurt and red sauce that came with the dish were a bit tasteless and unnecessary with the flavorful seasoned meats. The thick cubes of chicken were not only perfectly charred and seasoned; but juicy without being undercooked - how'd they do that? We debated for awhile cooking large cubes of chicken so well without drying out the meat. The shaved meat (for lack of a better description) also stood out and had a nice spicy kick to it with the white rice and salad adding a mellow compliment to help balance out the onslaught of spice from the dish. What a great neighborhood find!

After a bit of a stroll on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, we stopped at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory where we bought dishes of coffee and chocolate chocolate chunk ice cream. The ice cream here is rich and creamy and you can really taste the coffee and the dense chocolate flavor is certainly worth the calories! Nothing unnatural in here - take that Tasti di Lite!

A quick nap in the late afternoon and we were off to the evening's main event, dinner at Assenzio in the East Village. This is a repeat visit for RRR and me, but an inaugural visit for MPV and Bomber.

MPV was going to be arriving late so unfortunately she missed out on the delicious appetizers and first course. We began our adventure with the Torretta di Porto con ortaggi all griglia: a portobello mushroom tower with eggplant, zucchini, mozzerella and a warm tomato sauce. The meaty mushroom was a bit dry but the flavors of the eggplant, zucchini and creamy gooey mozzerella made up for what the mushroom lacked.

We also split the insalatina tricolore con gorgonzola e pignoli: arugula, radicchio, endive, gorgonzola and pine nuts. The finely chopped endive and pine nuts added a nice freshness to the dish. A good palate cleanser for our pasta course.

Our first bottle of wine for the evening was a fruity 2005 La Gaggina Dolcetto D'Ovada. Jammy and light it was a perfect way to start off a meal!

For our primi, we split the tagliolini neri con calamari e pomodorini: squid ink tagliolini tossed with calamari in a lightly spiced cherry tomato sauce. One of our servers was a bit overzealous with the freshly ground pepper but despite that slight misstep the pasta was quite lovely. The squid ink pasta was fresh and al dente and the calamari had just the right texture.

By this point, MPV had yet to arrive and while the servers were a bit nervous gazing around the bustling room of diners waiting to be seated, but at no point did we feel rushed to finish our meal. We ordered our second bottle, this time a 2005 Calco Nero D'Avola and prayed that MPV would find a parking spot soon.

After she arrived, we received our main courses. Corta di Manzo al connonau di Dorgal for me & Bomber which was a braised short rib in a cannonau sauce with a hint of dark chocolate. This dish was an Italian take on a mole sauce and succeeded on many fronts. The stringy meat was well-seasoned and the deep richness of the thick sauce had a great depth of flavor. The accompanying buttery carrots and broccoli were quite tasty and not the usual afterthought that side dishes can be. And the mashed potatoes with a sprig of rosemary for good measure? Pretty hard to go wrong there.

MPV had the red snapper with clams and mussels in a white wine sauce and RRR enjoyed the involtini di vitello con pecorino di gallura e vermentino: fresh veal rolls filled with pecorino cheese and basil in a vermentino wine sauce.

We managed to find room for dessert and split the tiramisu along with the caramelized banana with caramel. The tiramisu was pretty good but the banana was the one that got my attention. The banana was surprisingly batter dipped and lightly fried with a zeppole-type coating. The creaminess of the vanilla gelato was a nice balance to the overall sweetness of the dish.

After our food fest, RRR & I made a pit stop at Winebar on Second Ave and 4th Street for a final glass of wine. I chose a Rose from Provence and RRR had a wonderful sparkling Muscato. As we watched the wonderful pizzas and cheese plates emerge from behind the bar, we were both wishing we had more room to continue the dining extravaganza.

Seriously, could a foodie ask for a better way to spend her birthday?!?!?

Borgo Antico - A neighborhood gem

MPV came into the city last night and I found myself struggling to pick a restaurant. I wanted somewhere low key and casual, with great food. Ideally, it would be one of the few places left in my Union Square neighborhood where I've never been eaten before.

The amount of restaurant choices sometimes leaves me paralyzed by indecision. In the embarrassment of culinary riches that is the New York City dining scene 'too much' can often be as frustrating as 'not enough'. (What a rough life, huh?)

The eventual winner: Borgo Antico!

We arrived on the early side of the dinner rush and were offered a large table near the window on the second floor of Borgo Antico's charming townhouse. After ordering a bottle of Valpolicella Marion from the well-priced wine list, we decided to start our meal with a bit of salumi and cheese.

We chose an aged salumi and a cow and sheep blend cheese to start. They were presented on small cutting boards with an adorable butcher knife for the cheese wedges. Both plates puzzlingly came with hazelnuts, sliced red onion and mushrooms but also with a delightful bit of honey complete with pears. Unfortunately, only one piece of toasted bread came with each order but our bread basket was able to provide some additional cheese and honey vehicles for us.

For our main course, we both went with pasta dishes. MPV chose the pappardelle con ragu di funghi while I went with the ricotta gnocchi with sausage and mushrooms (my apologies for not writing down the official name of this pasta special).

MPV's pappardelle was in a hearty ragu of assorted mushrooms and the scent from the truffle "perfume" wafted above the table as soon as the waiter presented the dish. The pasta was fresh and perfectly cooked and the earthiness of the mushrooms were complemented by the subtly of the truffles.

My gnocchi were small, light and melted in my mouth. The tomato sauce was hearty and while I did feel that there weren't enough sausage or mushrooms in the dish the perfect execution of the gnocchi more than made up for it. Most gnocchi on Italian restaurant menus tend to be heavy and sit in your stomach like a ton of bricks after two bites. In Borgo Antico's case, this was one of the few times that I took a chance on gnocchi and was pleasantly surprised when my gamble paid off.

While Borgo Antico is not a 'fancy restaurant' by any means, it is a down-to-earth comfortable neighborhood place with good sized portions and gentle prices. Judging by the amount of people who had filled the restaurant by the time we left; this is not so much a neighborhood secret as it is a great date place or in this case a place to spend some quality time with one of your best friends!

Ladies who Brunch

This past Sunday, MPV, BG and Shaney-Baby came into the city and we had a lovely ladies' (and little dude) brunch at Blue Water Grill.

The reservationist assured me over the phone that Blue Water was "baby-friendly" and they were true to their word. Of course, Shaney-Baby napped during most of our meal and was an absolute doll, so perhaps a cranky baby might have tested their limits.

The service was attentive, the coffee (albeit a bit bitter) was flowing and the complimentary brunch cocktail (Bellini for BG and myself; Bloody Mary for MPV) had us wanting more.

We decided to go a bit against our norm and order brunch fare that you wouldn't necessarily get in another establishment. MPV went with the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, BG had the everything's-organic-but-the-eggs Organic Omelet with spinach, tomatoes, cheddar and a mixed greens salad and I had the Lump Crab, Artichoke and Camembert Omelet.

Overall, everything was decent. Just decent. I found my meal to be under seasoned and bland when it had so much more potential and the ladies pretty much felt the same way.

When you go to a place like Blue Water you expect a lot and I think the kitchen's playing it safe which is unfortunate; perhaps catering the throngs of Union Square tourists. C'mon Blue Water - I know you have it in you! Step it up!

On the bright side, Shaney-Baby found his jar of peaches to be most satisfying, perhaps the best brunch item of the day.

This Lucky Peach went to Momofuku!

I finally made it AND I can finally pronounce it! After months of reading Momofuku Noodle Bar's reviews and my passion for all cuisines Asian, the time finally arrived for me to see if it lived up to the hype.

RRR was in town for the weekend and MPV was trekking in from suburbia, so we gave it a whirl. I was a bit concerned about getting in on a Friday night to a hot no-reservation restaurant, so we had our area back ups ready just in case...

The restaurant was crowded and we were told there would be a 45 minute wait for our party of three. We decided to have some wine & cheese at Tarallucci e Vino next door and the hostess kindly offered to come by and get us when our table was ready. Less than 45 minutes later our table was ready and we wound up delaying our seating a bit; eventually abandoning what remained of our 1/3 bottle of wine to head to what we hoped was an Asian street food paradise.

We bellied up to the bar (pun intended since MPV is very pregnant at the moment!) and ordered a few items to share:

We started with two orders of steamed buns, choosing the shitake and the chicken over the pork since we were ordering a few pork items and didn't want to be over-swined. The chicken proved to be a bit dry but the shitake buns were delicious! The juicy barbeque sauce that surrounded the mushrooms and the crunch of the cucumbers that were on top was a taste explosion.

Having had my share of pork buns in Chinatown, these were really on the money! The open faced presentation of the buns added a bit of polish (and some pretension) to the dish.

Sadly, the chicken bun didn't fare as well; the mini-patty shaped chicken was crispy but slightly overcooked and dry. And the sponginess of the bun didn't help.

We then shared broccoli rabe with Berkshire pork. The pork was spicy and the broth had a hint of clove and seemed to be in a beef or other hearty stock. If we had bread, these three Italians would have been dunking away!

Then out came the "main event": the namesake Momofuku Ramen which came with a pork combo (Berkshire and something other type of pork just to be vague), a poached egg, scallions, and noodles of course. RRR & MPV were a bit grossed by the egg and I must admit it was a bit runny - bursting into my bowl before I managed to scoop out some of it to a nearby empty plate. The yolk however did add a bit more flavor and heartiness to my bowl of fun. We enjoyed sluping up the noodles and the broth had just the right amount of salt for my palate. I also enjoyed my portion of the noodles with a white ale recommended by our server.

RRR duly noted that we really don't have much of a point of comparison as far as noodle bars go but I did enjoy our Momofuku experience. It is tough for a restaurant to live up to the hype but this 'lucky peach' came pretty darn close. Not really a place to go to lounge; this is a get a bite to eat and go hang out somewhere else - but in a good way. The only thing these guys need to work on is their ventilation system... even after a double dose of Febreeze my jacket still smells like a fryer!

Happy Slurping!

Meatball Madness

If you are not Italian, perhaps you may not understand the heated debate surrounding what makes a great meatball. For last night's very un-scientific tasting we tried to decide whether one should fry, bake or cook your meatballs in your tomato sauce when making "gravy". And who better to tell you what makes a great meatball than the people who grew up eating them? If you think that sauce from a jar is completely and totally unacceptable, then you'll understand...

I assembled a veritable Cosa Nostra for my meatball tasting panel. The group wound up being a bit smaller than anticipated with Peanut D having plans with her Mom, MPV's son having to go to the doctor and my consigliere RRR working late and falling ill - but Monty & the GreenbandEeto were my enthusiastic tasting duo.

I separated my pasta platter into three sections: baked, fried & cooked in the sauce. I asked Monty & BandEeto to determine two things; (one) which one was their favorite and (two) which meatball was baked, fried and cooked.

BandEeto thought the meatballs went fried, cooked then baked and preferred the second one (cooked) although they were all "awesome".

Monty agreed on the awesome-ness but thought the order was fried, baked and cooked in the sauce. He suprisingly preferred the cooked in the sauce because it was "juicier" even though he's grown up on fried.

I was a bit of an impartial judge having eaten meatballs ad nauseam for the two weeks in preparation for last night's tasting but I have to admit they were all pretty close on taste and texture.

The actual order was (from right to left): baked, fried and cooked in the sauce.

The fact that I was able to get the baked version pretty crispy and brown was a bit deceptive to the panel. Judging by look before tasting it; it certainly seemed like this one was fried. What may also have skewed the results a bit were that the baked & fried were made on the same day meaning they had the same combination of ingredients versus the cooked in sauce version that was made at a later date.

I think the upshot of my 'experiment' was that what goes INTO the meatball winds up being just as important as how you cook it. While many of us may have grown up on our parent's & grandparents "calories-be-damned" meatballs, you can get the same crispy outside on a baked meatball with less mess, oil and calories than the splattery fried version without much of a compromise on flavor. And as far a baking in the sauce, I guess it is simply a matter of how much time you have on your hands since it does take a bit longer to make this version.

Or perhaps at the end of the day, there really isn't such a thing as a bad meatball - it's just all in the execution. Actually, I've had plenty of bad meatballs so maybe I should just be patting myself on the back for a meatball well done!

Luckily for a select group of my co-workers, today they get to enjoy the fruits (or meat as the case may be) of my labor.

Ode to the Ironbound

There is nothing like the shrimp and garlic that you get at Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark.

My sister and I have tried to order it in Spanish resturants in the city and to replicate it in our kitchens but our attempts (while commendable) have not even come close. So when MPV suggested meeting for dinner in Newark last night, not even a Path station hotter than the pits of hell was going to keep me from shrimp & garlic.

We headed to Casa Vasca, a place I've been to quite a few times before. The place was packed and our service was a bit rushed, but who cares when you know there's a garlicky plate of shrimp coming your way!

With a pitcher of sangria and a basket of bread we sopped up every last bit of the oil (or at least I did!). We ordered two entrees, a grilled grouper and monkfish with clams & shrimp in a green garlic sauce but at that point I was more interested in chatting & catching up than taking much notice of the meal. At that point, I got what I came for...some quality time with one of my best friends and some quality time with one of my all-time favorite dishes!