JamieEats

Greasy Goodness

Dreesen's Donuts have been an institution on Newtown Lane in East Hampton for like forever. Dreesen's was a deli that made a fried, brown sugar, cinamon cake donut in their window every morning and I would run there every summer for my fix. Several years ago the deli closed. A victim of the real estate boom in East Hampton and my fix was gone. Since then the owner of Dreesen's has gone into franchising the machine and recipe BUT the original machine is in the window of SCOOP DU JOUR ice cream shop making donuts every day.
I got there a little late this year because I usually like to get them hot and right out of the machine. (They are fried) There were not hot but they still were fine. If you are in East Hampton check them out.

Scoop du Jour

 (631) 329-4883 
35 Newtown Ln
East Hampton, NY 11937

Finally! Great Thai in Manhattan.

Super Thai restaurants are very rare in Manhattan. True aficionados know that Queens is now the go to borough for Thai. Not any more. Zabb Elee is here in the East Village.
Down a few steps and you walk into a clean, bright, airy space with a limited number of tables. The waitresses were lovely and the prices very reasonable. The average dish is $9. We started with Som Tum which is papaya salad. The particular one we ordered was thai papaya salad with dried shrimp and peanuts. The menu is divided up into a group of dishes
with a common base. There are 8 types of Yom Tum with various ingredients on the basic papaya salad. If you never had it, Thai Papaya salad, when made well, is a dichotomy of heat from chili and cool from the fruit. The next section we tried was the larb. There is a choice of 8 types of larb which is minced meat salad. The meat is combined with scallion, mint, red onions, chili powder, with a lime dressing.
We had duck. Hmmmmmm.  Next we had Kana Moo Korb. Crispy pork with chinese brocoli. It was great. Frankly, I think this is one of those places that you have to do a some exploration of the menu. The food is from northan Thailand near Laos and there is no Pad Thai here. Also, there is a fair amount of heat. If you can't take it they will gladly turn it down for you. Just ask.
I will be back.

Zabb Elee

75 2nd Ave (between E 5th and 6th Sts)
Mon - Sun 11:30 am - 1 am
212 505 9533

I'm Soooooo Sorry!

Sorry guys I've been eating and not blogging. Too busy with about 3 new jobs. Anyway I'm back in action. I think I'll talk ribs today. Surprise! It's meat too. But we went for a tour and meat was on the menu. This time we tried Dinosaur Bar B Que which has been on my radar for quite some time.

Dinosaur is a huge warehouse sized place off the West Side Highway on 125thnd Street. The wood for the smoking is kept outside and you can smell the smoker as you approach. We went on a sunny Sunday afternoon at 2:30 and the wait was 45 minutes for a table. Since we were trying to do a quick eat and run we grabbed a seat by the bar at the small elevated tables. No waiting there. We ordered a full rack of the obligatory ribs with 2 sides consisting of mac n cheese and baked beans. There was some coveted dining outside but I can't imagine what the wait was for them.
The ribs arrived after about 20 minutes and if you can eat with your eyes, take a look!

 
The ribs were dry rubbed and smoked long enough that the meat was falling off the bone tender. The taste? Excellent. Probably the best smoked ribs I have ever tasted. (That may not say much since I am far from a pro in this area but I know stuff that taste good when I eat it)

 Bar-b-que sauce is available but I am a purist when it comes to my ribs and I enjoy the smokey flavor without the sauce. The sides of mac n cheese and beans were good but not

great. The mac n cheese was the most interesting as it was dry not creamy and spicey. It had a good kick to it. I have new material to put out there and I will be putting it out there the next few weeks. Enjoy!

DINOSAUR BAR-B-QUE
700 W. 125th St.

 

Eating Meat

My son is 16. To him it is all about the meat. When he is needing a fix we go to Big Wong in Chinatown on Mott Street. Big Wong is the epitome of Chinese roasted duck, pork, and ribs. If you are man/woman enough to love juicy fatty meat then this is the place for you. Among those who make a study of this Big Wong is well known for their ribs. They are nothing like the usual take out fair the average Chinese takeout dishes out. No red dye here. Just slow roasted tasty goodness.
The ribs are very good but I usually order the trio of roasted duck, roasted pork, and ribs. I can't decide what I like the most. The roasted pork is really good.

 
No extra sauce needed. Don't forget the duck which is roasted, meaty, and fatty all at the same time.

 
By now, your arteries should be sufficiently coated inside and out but it sure was good going down. Naturally, I cannot do this place too often but once in a while it hits the spot! By the way, you have to get here by 8pm. I have been there when they were sold out of ribs and duck. They bang the doors shut at 9pm.

Big Wong

67 Mott St
(between Bayard St & Canal St)
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhood: Chinatown

(212) 964-0540

Rice, Rice, Rice

 
It's still raining out and cold. We left Food Sing 88 and walked around the corner to A-Wah known for their Bo Zai Fan rice pot. This is a clay pot rice casserole with various toppings. I was attracted because of the comparison to Korean bim bam bop which I love. For rice lovers, the rice close to the pan or pot gets hard and crunchy and mixed in with the various add ins makes it especially good. It's hard to describe unless you've had it.
We ordered three varieties to try. Below is the House Special Chinese Sausage & Mixed Pork .
We also had the chicken and mushrooms. Notice the scallions as well.

While this was an interesting foray it was not a keeper. I still prefer the comfort of Korean Bim Bam Bop.

A-Wah

5 Catherine St
New York, NY 10038

 

Warm Soup on a Cold Day

It's hard to talk about hardy beef soup when it is 80 degrees outside. However, two weeks ago we hit this place in Chinatown on a cold rainy Saturday afternoon. It was perfect. I heard somewhere, that Food Sing 88 Co. has amazing broth. At this point, I think all the sources I use are just mixing together in my head. I hope no one gets upset I don't credit them. Anyway, this place is another one of my holes in the wall with good, cheap food. We ordered the beef noodle soup.
It was a very good soup and everything in the bowl was tasty. Is it worth going out of your way for? Depends on the weather. In the winter it is. If you are in chinatown on a cold day drop in and warm up.

Food Sing 88 Corp.

2 E. Broadway, New York, NY 10038  212-219-8223

 

Give it up, now!

I have a confession to make. For those of you that follow my blog I have been holding back one of my favorites knowing that as soon as I talked about it the place would be mobbed. My guilt has gotten the better of me however, and I am going to give it up. You ready? It's the Organic Tofu House in Ridgewood, NJ. Yechh. You say? You're right. The name needs work but fortunately the food does not. It's good. Really. I have been taking friends to this place for about two years and no one has come away disappointed.

My favorite dishes are the seafood scallion pancake.
The pancake is a chewy combination of scallions, squid, and shrimp fried and served with a dipping sauce. Mmmmmm

We usually get the Mandu also. These are fried pork dumplings that are clearly home made and delicious.
Personally, I am not a big fan of tofu as a food. I find the mushy consistency to be unpleasant and the taste is useless. It takes on the taste of whatever it's in. I usually order the beef or seafood tofu here and you get a steaming pot of tofu and beef or seafood in a generous amount of sauce or soup. What I do is, add rice, and hot sauce and go to town. It's pretty good and a bargain at $8.99.

 

I never leave without ordering the BBQ Kalbi( Marinated Sliced Short Ribs). They are good for those who won't touch the Tofu. (a mistake in my opinion)

Last, but not least, is the House Noodle. This is a rice vermicelli on the chewy side with plenty of vegetables and flavor. Definitely get it.
Next time you're in Ridgewood go to the Organic Tofu House.

88 Godwin Ave
Ridgewood, NJ 07450

(201) 251-7734

 

I ate in Cuba today!

The sun was shining. It was a beautiful day and welcome after the long string of dreary, cloudy, rainy ones I had experienced recently. I welcomed the warmth of the rays beating down on me as I peeled off the layers I became accustomed to wearing. Spring was in the air. The air smells fresher in the Spring and the birds louder. All my senses were atuned to that first warm day. I watched the thermometer rise out of the 60's, the 70's, and into the 80's as I approached my destination. There it was! A small, roadside stand right next to the train station with 2 Plastic tables for eating outside and 4 counter seats inside . I pulled the car over and walked in. The combination of the blast of aromas from the food and heat from the stove hit me like a brick wall. I recovered quickly and examined the short concise Cuban menu in Spanish and English. The woman at the counter spoke no English but when it comes to food I can converse in any tongue. Besides, nothing on the menu was over $5.99 so what did I have to lose?

The menu was conveniently broken down into daily specials and I ordered Picadillo, a roast pork Cuban pressed sandwich, yellow rice, black beans, a chicken empanada, Fried Yuca with Mojito (a garlic dipping sauce), and a cinnamon pudding (I forget the name).I started with the Empanada.

 

The empanada was delicious but it would have benefited from a bit more stuffing. Everything here is made by hand and the care shows in the flavor. Next on the roster was the Cuban sandwich with pork.

  Every good sandwich starts with the bread. The roll was fresh and crisped perfectly. My first bite created a crunch in just the right octave. The meat, cheese, pickle all combined to form a habit worse than crack. I kept coming back for more and more. The 2nd best part next eating it was the price. $5.00 Picadillo, rice and beans, and the fried yuca with the mojito was my next course.

 















I dipped the yuca in the mojito, poured the black beans on the rice, and ate away. The food was just good home cooked food worthy of any cuban restaurant I have eaten in for twice the price. Tony, the owner, came in and we chatted about all the good publicity he has deservedly been getting. I found Tony's place, El Caney, on Jason Perlow's blog Off the Broiler. The trip was worth it. To top off the meal I had a sweet pudding topped with cinnamon that was perfect. All I needed now was a beach and a palm tree to sack out under.

El Caney LLC
48 West Church Street
Bergenfield, NJ 07621

My lobster nosh

For those of you who don't follow the world of lobster rolls as closely as I do you may not have heard of Luke's Lobster in the East Village. Luke's opened in 2009. At the time, there was a war going on over who had the best lobster roll in New York. Pearls, Mermaid, BLT, or Mary's Fish Camp. While the rolls were good they were around $30. Clearly a lot to pay for a taste of summer. Luke's grew up in Maine and his family runs a real lobster business. He made it his mission to offer a basic lobster roll that emphasized the crustacean and not heavy on mayo or celery. Lukes roll is a toasted hot dog bun, buttered, a "swipe" of mayo and 4ozs of lobster dusted with spices. At the time Luke's opened he was serving a roll for a relative bargain of $14. Now it is $15 which is not bad by the standards of most places now a days.
If you have a craving for a lobster roll I recommend Luke's. Over the last couple of years he has not been standing still. Luke has added to the menu with bisque and clam chowder. In addition, two more places have opened. One on the upper east side and one on the upper west side. I understand there is another place opening in the financial district. I will tell you that the original place is a hole in the wall with seating for maybe 8 but I am partial to it because it is in the East Village. Watch this guy. He is going places.

Luke's Lobster

93 E. 7th Street
212.387.8487

Lost in Forest Hills

I was in Queens last Friday with my friend, Steve. Steve is a Pizza fanatic and was dying to impress me with a place he has been going to for years called Nick's. Of course, before I went I had to do some due diligence and I found out that Nick's is famous for their pies, house salad, and cappuccino and espresso. I went ready to try all three and see how it stood up to my recent experience at Motorino which I thought was the best I had ever had. Pie that is. Anyway, we got there at about 12:30. The place has an open kitchen and a clean, nice ambiance.
I started with the salad which is Arugula, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted peppers. Generally, I don't like sun dried tomatoes but they worked on this salad. The dressing was a slightly sweet vinaigrette which reminded me of those raspberry vinaigrette you get offered from time to time. While the salad was good I did not think it lived up to the hype. I would not order it again primarily because I prefer a dressing that is simpler. I usually go for a dressing on this type of salad which is just extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper. I think the salad could have used a little cheese as well.

    The next step in the process is the pie. When you order a pie in a new pizza joint I believe you should stick to the basic pie unless told otherwise. At Motorino, I went for the white pie with brussel sprouts and had no regrets. The problem is, when you dine with others, most people I know like more stuff on their pizza. I feel to judge you have to go to the essential crust, sauce, and cheese. If that is outstanding the extras will only detract. Steve and I compromised on half mushroom and half plain after the waiter assured us the mushrooms would not affect my plain half in cooking time or preparation. The pie that emerged was gorgeous in its presentation and simplicity. A thin crust, a thick layer of sauce, slabs of handmade fresh mozzarella, and fresh basic liberally sprinkled on top.
My opinion? A very good pie. At this time, better than anything I have had in Jersey. This statement may not hold for long however since I am going to try two place that were written up recently in NJ. Steve and I devoured the pie in about 2 minutes each consuming 4 slices. Something I never do. I usually stop at two. The last step was the cappuccino.
The cappuccino was good. Not great, but a nice finish to an excellent pizza. So if you find yourself lost in Forest Hills, try Nicks.

Nick's Pizza

 

108-26 Ascan Ave., Queens, NY 11375 
nr. Burns St.  718-263-1126