JamieEats

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

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

Good dogs are hard to find

 Among the food coniscenti Crif Dogs is a well known stop in the East Village. Their dogs are a beef and pork combo but it does not end there. My usual haunt for a super dog is Rutt's Hut in Rutherford. The secret there is a custom made frank deep fried so it "rips" open, hence the name ripper. The dogs at Crif Dogs are also deep fried but first they wrap a slice of bacon around it. We chose the Spicy Redneck. A combo of dog, bacon, chili, jalapenos, and cole slaw. They have many interesting and potentially yummy choices and I will definitely be back to try them all. The inside is decorated in an eclectic manner but it is small and there is plenty to look at while waiting for your order.
After a short wait the crucial moment arrived. Since this was the first stop on a food tour we had to share a dog to leave room for the other stops. Very unfortunate. I could have easily stuffed my face here.  This is not a neat eat. However, if good ingredients thrown together make for good food, then we are on the same page. This thing rocked and will be on my future tour. There is one more tidbit I have to reveal. Next store to Crif Dog is the bar PDT (Please Don't Tell) You cannot get in without a reservation and you enter through Crif Dog. If you want to lay out some cash for a curated cocktail with your dog then go for it. It would be a great night.

Crif Dogs 113 St. Marks Pl., New York, NY 10009
nr. Ave. A    212-614-2728

 

Gnocco, not Gnocchi

Last night we hit it out of the park. We ate in 4 places. There were 4 of us out to dinner. At the end of the evening, we all could not agree on the best "taste" and each person chose a different place. That is what I call a food tour success. We had no misses. Our second stop was a restaurant called Gnocco. Gnocco is a relatively common dish in Italy but not so here. You have to seek it out. It is fried bread, almost a cracker, served with some sort of accompaniment. At Gnocco, it is served with a plate of cured Italian meats like salami and proscuitto.
You lay the meat on the gnocco and go to town. The combination was terrific and definitely something I would come back for.

    We also tried the burrata. Burrata is a fresh cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is usually served fresh, at room temperature. The name "burrata" means "buttered" in Italian. The cheese was served with excellent bread, cherry tomatoes, and oil, vinegar, basil, and pepper. This dish was delicious as well and we could have consumed twice the portions but we had to excercise restraint given our mission for the evening.
The restaurant is dark and cozy. Our Italian bartender, Tommy, was particulary friendly and talkative. Definitely worth a stop when you want to try something new.

Gnocco Cucina & Tradizione

 

 

337 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10009 
nr. Ave. B  work 212-677-1913

Uber Cool space with not so Uber taste food

Sunday, I ate my Motorino Pizza, lost my glasses to the wind, got a parking ticket, and decided to go over to Vandaag for a drink and their famous smoked bacon sandwich. Vandaag is on the corner of 6th Street and 2nd Avenue. The space is open, Scandinavian, and cool. When I walked in, I said this is going to be good. Everything looked to be in good taste and original. Even the drink menu was curated and had nothing on it I had ever heard of.

 

 

        holland

• Emelisse rauchbier [smoked ale] 6% abv 8
• Emelisse Triple IPA 10% abv 12
• Emelisse Dubbel 7% abv 8
• La Trappe quadruppel 10% abV 12

belgium

• Blanche de Bruxelles [Wit] 4.5% abv 7
• st-feuillien saison 6.5% abv 11
• De ranke père noël [christmas Ale] 7.5% abv 13
• Rodenbach Classic [Flemmish Red] 5.2% abv 9
• st-louis premium framboise [lambic] 4.5% abv 9

scandinavia

• Carlsberg [Pilsner] 4.6% abv 7
• Mikkeller ris a la m’ale [seasonal] 8% abv 11
• Nøgne Ø winter ale 8.5% abv 13

bier

bottles

• Urthel Hop It Pale Ale, Belgium, 25.4 Oz. 9.5% ABV 27
• Hof ten Dormaal blonde, belgium, 375Ml. 8% aBv 12
• Christoffel Dubbel Gehopt Blonde, Holland, 11.2 OZ. 6% ABV 12
• castelain bière de garde blonde, france, 25.4 OZ. 6.4% ABV 27
• Urthel Hibernus Quentum winter triple, Belgium, 11.2 oz 9% abv 12
• Kwak Pauwel Amber, Belgium, 330ml. 8.4% ABV 11
• Palm Amber, Belgium, 11.2 OZ. 5.4% ABV 7
• serafijn christmas angel festive Amber, Belgium, 25.4 OZ. 8% ABV 33
• nøgne ø sahti Norway, 16.9 OZ. 11% ABV 24
• nøgne ø special holiday ale, Norway, 16.9 OZ. 8.5% ABV 24
• dansk mjød braggot beer with honey wine and ginger, 25.4 OZ. 10.1% ABV 34
• nils oscar barley wine, 11.2 OZ. 9.5% ABV 18
• Tilburg Dutch Brown Brown ale, Holland, 11.2 OZ. 5% ABV 7
• Wintercoat Vildmose peat smoked brown ale, denmark, 25.4 OZ. 5.8% ABV 28
• De Dochter van de Korenaar “Embrasse” Dark Ale, Bel 22.3 oz 9% abv 26
• Mikkeller “From to” Holiday spiced porter, denmark 25.4 oz 8% abv 35
• emilisse russian imperial stout Holland, 11.2 OZ 11% ABV 12
• Kriek Boon Lambic, Belgium, 375ml 4% ABV 15

genever cocktails 13

• vandaag gin cocktail

  BOLS GENEVER, emelisse stout REDUCTION, BITTERS WITH A WASH OF KIRSCHWASSER & ABSINTHE

• daisy de holanda

  genevieve, fino sherry, lime, pine & green chartreuse

• Martinez

  BOLS GENEVER, carpano antica VERMOUTH, MARASCHINO & angostura BITTERS

• WEST OF 2ND

  GENEVIEVE, MEZCAL, LIME, SUGAR CANE & POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

akvavit cocktails 12

• turf war

  akvavit, lillet, maraschino, orange bitter & absinthe with an olive & lemon twist

• spice tree

  apple and ras el hanout infused akvavit, applejack, lemon, honey crisp syrup & egg white

• kindred spirit

  quince & licorice infused akvavit, lemon, yellow chartreuse & orange bitters with spiced rim

• rolling orange

  chicory + cocoa infused akvavit, reposado tequila, moscatel sherry, amaro cio ciaro and orange bitters

bier cocktails

• radler 10

  PINEAPPLE INFUSED AKVAVIT, LIME & GINGER SYRUP WITH BELGIAN WITBIER

• cb3 sour 12

  FLEMISH SOUR ALE WITH rye whiskey, LEMON, orange & housemade grenadine

• bitter linzer 13

  calvados, batavia arrack, sweet vermouth, lemon, egg white, spiced syrup, raspberry lambic & angostura bitters lattice

wine cocktails 12

• chinaski

  akvavit, cynar, lemon & apricot syrup with sparkling gruner & celery twist

• bohemian spritz

  grüner veltiner, vermouth balnc, st. germain, zirbenz pine w/ sparkling wine & grapefruit zest

fuzzy mittens

wrap your hands around these...

• Glögg 11

  zweigelt, akvavit, cherry heering, mulling spices, orange peel

• vandaagnog 12

  bols genever, applejack, mulled squash-apple cider, spiced butter

• gumtree toddy 12

  pear infused akvavit, blended scotch, mead, benedictine, peychaud bitters & eucalyptus

Kopstootje “little head butt” 11

chilled Bols genever shot with beer back

infused akvavits

one 7   three 20   five 30

• quince & licorice root
• pineapple
• winter pear
• HORSERADISH & DILL
• chicory & cocoa
• apple & ras el hanout
• currant & smoked black cardamom

digestif cocktails 13

• dutch flip

  bols genever, grand marnier, port, cream and a whole egg with espresso ice

• humdinger

            bols genever, antica vermouth, benedictine, fernet menta with bitters

The bartender recommended a Martinez and I ordered it. Unbelievable, it brought me right back to my youth when my mother forced medicine down my throat. Like then, I had to drink it. After all the damn thing cost me $13.

I waited with anticipation for my sandwich and nursed my drink. And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the sandwich came out of the kitchen. Who wouldn't be anxious for a sandwich made with Artisan black bread, paper thin sliced potatoes, salad with a whole grain mustard vinaigrette, and thick slabs of house smoked bacon.

 
Looks good, right? Well, I put this sucker in my mouth and grabbed a nice bite. Unfortunately, I was still chewing the bacon 10 minutes later trying to swallow the toughest slab I ever ate. My wife hated the sandwich. I am not that harsh. I think the concept was excellent but the execution was poor. The bacon was tough and too smokey. This place is not a keeper and I will not be back. Oh well. On to the next dish.

My Wife would not stop Moaning!

    As you can probably tell by now my house is filled with food obsessed nuts. We all, in our own ways, pursue our passion for the pleasure that food brings to our lives. So it is with this in mind that I usually use my wife as my guide on the quality of the tastes as I proceed to eat my way around. I only have two criteria, a keeper and not a keeper. I started to use a third rating as my guide when I can bring my wife along. It's called a moaner. If she moans when the first taste enters her mouth then I usually consider that to be the criteria to eventually putting the dish on my food tour. A keeper is not sufficient. It must be a moaner.

    The place that elicited the moaning yesterday was Motorino on 12th Street. While I like pizza as much as the next guy I never could blog about it exclusively like some do. I have considered doing a pizza tour but I don't think I could take it eating at 5 places in one day. I don't think it does justice to the high end efforts by the people who focus on the dish. But when a pie comes out of the oven looking like this:                                                             I have to sit up and take notice. Very often we eat with our eyes before we even take the first bite. That visual places a taste in our mind that is either met, exceeded, or disappointing. I experienced both yesterday. I decided to go with the one that exceeded my expectations first. I have to give you a hint first, this pie, as good as it looks, was not the pie that sent my wife into rapture.

    If you are a steady reader here you know about Motorino when I blogged about the places on my Pizza radar. Slowly, but surely, I am eating my way through the list. Motorino is a quaint place in the East Village with a tin ceiling, marble tables, and subway tile going halfway up the walls. I like the vibe a lot. You should plan to go slightly off hours since the place is packed most of the time.        

While nothing came from the wood burning oven that did not look delectable we decided on the Brussels Sprout, Pancetta Pizza. Each pizza is about 14" and about $14-$16. We split one since it was our first stop of the day. We also had to save room for the tiramasu here since it also is rumored to be fantastic. The pie came out steaming and a sight to behold. The leaves of the sprouts were clearly fresh and spread by hand over the pie. The cheese was clearly fresh and high quality. The pancetta gently distributed in bite size pieces. We cut up our first slice and proceeded to try it. WOW! The best slice I ever had. Note: I have yet to make it to other places on my radar which are supposed to be equal or better than this. The crust was like nothing I ever had before. Smokey from the wood oven and chewy right up to the very end. Not dried, crunchy bread here. This was like eating in the Per Se of pizza.
We polished of the pie quickly and lamented the fact we could not order another. We had a day of tasting in front of us. The next item to get was the tiramasu. While it was very good it was not in the same league as the pie. I don't know if tiramasu can rise to that level. I usually operate on the premise that if it is worthy of the tour then the moan has to be there.

 
Motorino East Village
349 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003

Sunday-Thursday 11AM-12AM
Friday and Saturday 11AM-1AM

212-777-2644

Gooey, tastey, goodness

Not one to appreciate good old stick to your ribs food I set out to try the "This Way" Roast beef concoction at This little Piggy. Let it be said I never let a mess stop me from stuffing said mess into my face if it tasted good. Well, this sandwich is a mess. They take a nice lump of thinly sliced roast beef and pour over a nice helping of Au Jus. Then the cheeze whiz. All on a roll that totally melts in all the liquid. Mmmmmm

 
Cheap and good in the East Village.

149 1st Ave, New York NY10003  Btwn 9th & 10th St)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I call it carbo loading others call it eating Pizza

There is no way I can make it to every place I want to try. I am sure enjoying the effort however. That being said, I think it would be interesting to discuss places on my radar from time to time and maybe you could help me out by getting there before I. Remember, I am looking only for the best so if the taste is not something special I have to know. Sending my followers to taste something good but not spectacular is not what I am about.

In the foodie world Pizza is kind of overdone. New style Pizza places are popping up quicker than organic offerings at Whole Foods. This is New York however and Pizza must be given it's proper respect. Therefore, I have listed a few places I want to taste. If you're in the neighborhood drop by and let me know whether to make the effort.

1. Sullivan Street Bakery - 533 West 47th Street.

I'm told the mushroom slice here is not to be believed.  It has Cremini mushrooms, onions, thyme, olive oil, and sea salt; thin, crisp crust. Not too bad, huh?

 
2. Grand Daisy Bakery, 73 Sullivan Street

Grand Daisy is known for everything. The one thing I want to try is Pizza con schiacciata d'uva and also the Cauliflower Pizza. Schiacciata (pronounced ski-ah-CHA-ta) con L'Uva is an Etruscan grape bread or pie and is made to celebrate the grape harvest in Tuscany in the fall. Pizza Cavolfiore is the other one.   It's Cauliflowers and Gryuere cheese on top a thin-crispy pizza.  
 

3. Artichoke Basille, 328 East 14th Street

 How does a great Sicilian slice sound? Or a signature artichoke slice? Or the crab slice? I'm told all are somewhere between excellent and fantastic.

 
4. Motorino - 349 East 12th Street

Motorino is all over the internet for having a terrific product. It is my fault I have not gotten there yet. I have a list of two pies to try. First is the basil and oil or Stracciatella. The second is the Sicilian, once again.

 
5. Luzzo's - 211 First Avenue

The last pie I have on my radar is Luzzo's.  The pie to get here is the napoletano. My plan is to try em all but hard to do in one day.

 

Below is a picture from one of the places. When you get to them guess which one this picture is from.

 

 

 

 

Perogi, Kreplach, Gyoza, Ravioli, or Dim Sum - I love em all

Dumplings, Pizza, burgers, and ice cream are all in my pantheon hall of fame as the best creations known to man. Some people may think the written word or the printing press were a step up the evolutionary ladder but I would beg to differ. Where would we be without dumplings? Every culture has a version of them so it must be germane to the human condition. I heartily agree. I have been spending a fair amount of time on Asian creations lately so it is time to move west to Poland and the land of Perogi. In Manahattan, I believe that neighborhood to be the East Village. Vaselka is known for their Perogi. I recently was there and went for the fried Cheese perogi and the Potato with fried onions and sour cream.

 

I have been eating perogi as long as I can remember. I enjoy Polish food because it is hearty and sticks to your ribs, especially in the winter. The perogi at Veselka are fried (or boiled) to order and served immediately. The ingredients are high quality and seasoned appropriately. The result is a terrific perogi. Just mix in the onions and sour cream and enjoy. Definitely a keeper.

 

Veselka

(212) 228-9682

144 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003 40.729191 -73.987238

The best buns I ever sunk my teeth into

You never know when you are going to run across something tasty. Sunday my wife and I took our daughter into New York for some eating as I conduct my tasting for the future food tours I would like to start. Actually, my daughter was leaving for Florence for a semester abroad and she wanted to get one more bite out of the Big Apple before she started on a steady diet of Italian. Sunday 
was freezing and my usually routine is to walk everywhere so I don't have to re-park the car. We started out for the Lower East Side from Nolita by way of Chinatown but bailed and ducked into a bun place that was on my radar.

 

 I have to tell you a secret. I cannot stand Almond Joy. I hate coconut. So when my notes dictated getting the coconut buns I was a little concerned. No need. Even I can appreciate a good, fresh, warm, succulent, round, chewy, coconut bun. These things were fresh!

 

I don't know if I would make a special trip for these things but if you are in the area definitely worth it for something a little different and good.

 
64 Bayard St
(between Elizabeth St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-7866