Pio Pio - Peruvian Cuisine

A new gem!

I remember from visiting Peru years back for a missions trip that one of the best things we ate was their chicken and their dulce de leche. For Maureen’s birthday dinner, Esther suggested Pio Pio and I immediately agreed because they were rated to have one of the best Sangrias in the city. We devoured not only multiple pitchers of their sangria (perfect combination of fruit, juice, and wine!) but their food as well. We ordered the Peruvian Combo (Chicken Pio served with large french fries and avocado salad), Mero con Salsa de Porto (Baked Chilean Sea Bass served on a mushrooms and spinach bedding sautéed in olive oil), and Picante de Camarones (Shrimp sauté in garlic, onions, and white wine in a creamy spicy sauce served with quinoa cake stuffed with spinach and goat cheese). Both the sea bass and shrimp were good, but nothing compared to their chicken. The avocado salad includes generous portion of avocados and their chicken (rotisserie) is extremely juicy and moist, flavored with perfection. However, it’s their spicy green sauce that tops the flavor which was good with almost anything we were eating including the fries. As a side, we ordered fried plantains. It was good but not much credit can be given considering how wrong can you go with fried plantains.

They brought out a dessert sampler for Maureen’s birthday and I must say, each dessert was fantastic, especially their pumpkin ice cream.

Well-priced, excellent food and drinks, and it would be even better if the location was more convenient (we went to the location in Hell’s Kitchen – 43^rd& 10^th ave) and they had outdoor seating, especially on a nice day like last night!

Must go again!

Bagels, bagels, bagels!

How do you like your bagels? Here are few of my favorite ways:

• Plain bagel toasted with cream cheese, tomato, and onion: for those “I’m bored this morning and I want to spice it up a bit” mornings.
• Everything bagel toasted with cream cheese: bringing back the all-time classic, with Snapple Peach Iced Tea. Familiar memories anyone?
• Bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel with salt, pepper, ketchup, and tabasco sauce: you know … those mornings.
• Toasted plain bagel topped layered with cream cheese, lox, capers, and sweet onion: the “brunchy” mornings where you want to sit outside in a nice café with a giant platter of this combination while sipping on iced coffee with a paper at hand. Amazing.
• Plain bagel toasted with butter: “I want something hearty and warm” mornings
• Everything bagel toasted with vegetable cream cheese: key here is that the cream cheese has to be filled with a generous lump sum of chopped vegetables and the vegetables have to be a good size bites. No bits of stupid carrot and chives.

What inspired this entry?

I woke up to my spoiled brother telling Mommy that he wants bagel for breakfast. To be specific, he wanted a bagel from Bergen Boulevard Bagels. My dad, of course, drives there to get bagels for Charlie and my mom, of course, makes breakfast for him. I was lucky enough to score one also and when I bit into the bagel, I stopped to check what was inside because it was taste of heaven. It was an untoasted bagel with cream cheese and topped off with strips of BACON! Who would’ve thought that would actually taste amazing? What they say is true: everything tastes better with bacon. Go try it. I promise you, you’ll thank me.

Macaron Cafe - Part II

After my disappointing experience first time around yesterday morning, I made a pit stop on my way back home. The owner (I think) happened to be at the café when I stopped by and I explained my unpleasant experience with the macarons from the morning. He ended up being such a sweet man who gave me an education on the creation of macarons along with a tasting of all the available flavors! For fruit-flavored macarons, most often, the essence and the aroma are used to make them rather than the actual fruit itself because of the amount of water that the fruit produces, which in turn affects the texture of the macaron. For non-fruit flavors such as pistachio, chocolate, vanilla, and alike, actual ingredients are used which makes the taste of the macaron more authentic and flavorful. Also, macarons are made fresh daily, however, it tastes the best around 3-4 days later because of the humidity that the macarons absorb, says the sweet man. I tried the following macarons yesterday with the sweet man:

• Pistachio – nutty, sweet, and “goh so hae” (I don’t know the translation in English)
• Lemon – tangy and not too sweet
• Chestnut Matcha Tea – my favorite! You get both the sweet and warm flavor of both the chestnut and the matcha tea
• Chocolate Caramel (with sea salt) – it’s the perfect combination of sea salt and sweetness from the chocolate and the caramel
• Cassis Lavender – beautifully colored macaron with a touch of the cassis flavor

Food is not solely about the taste; it’s an experience. Had the sweet man not have been as generous and helpful, maybe the macarons would’ve tasted good even on my second time around and if I had chosen different flavors than my first time visiting. However, because of him going out of his way to explain the baking steps and the tasting that he offered to me at his own cost, it made the experience that much better. I still say Madeleine Patisserie was far better but because of the sweet man, I will definitely make more regular visits to try out their other flavors.

Macaron Cafe

This is what happens when you no longer have a blackberry. I ended up walking in zigzag between Broadway and 7^th ave between the streets of 40^th to 36^th only to finally find the stupid café on 36^th. Angela said that I set myself up for what’s to come later because I was so excited to try it. Eunice had also mentioned Macaron Café as well so I had such high hopes. It’s a cute cozy café and perhaps because the place is so small that it’s inviting. I bought two: chocolate passion fruit and kiwi. I hurried back to my office as soon as I possibly can work (I work on 27^th so it still took good 15 minutes), sat with my cup of morning coffee, and finally took a bite out of the macarons. As Angela had mentioned, I did set myself up by going to Madeleine Patisserie to try macarons for the very first time because this was not what I had expected. It was not chewy, the crust sort of crumbled each time I took a bite, and the flavor was not up to par by any means. I was so disappointed and more so because I ended up throwing the kiwi out because it tasted so bad. But based on all the reviews in other blogs of this place, I am also blaming on the poor flavors I chose and also the time of the day I happened to stop by (9am!). I will give it one more try and see about trying different flavors before coming to a final judgement of this place. It really was cute and cozy nonetheless!

With that said, I don’t know how successful my macaron hunt will be. Then again, I am glad that the first time I tried it was not in Paris.

Happy Hour + Macarons = Happy Me.

Our plans did not exactly go the way we expected this past Friday night. We wanted to try a cheap eatery within close approximation to the two birthday parties we needed to attend. After parking our car near what would be our last stop of the evening, we decided to “venture out” and walk around. That didn’t last too long due to hunger and we ended up going to the nearest place we could find to eat, and we were allured by the welcoming happy hour deal: buy one get one free. Well, not only was the deal fantastic, the food and drinks were both amazing! Agozar is a Cuban Bistro Bar and it’s a small joint that is vibrant with Latin flavor. We ordered several tapas, few of our favorites being escabeche de pescado (crispy mahi mahi strips with a sweet pepper ragu, green banana tostone) and jibarro en canoa (picadillo, weet plantains, picillo). The tapas are served in about 4-5 pieces per plate and because of the fantastic price, you don’t feel burdened to order lots of different dishes. We both had the sangria, which was decent, and the mojitos. I must say the food was far better than the drinks but hey, buy one get one free, you get what you pay for.

On a different note, please do not judge me when I say this, but I tried macarons for the first time this Saturday with my beloved long-time friend Jihee who happened to be visiting from Chicago. My justification for not trying macarons is this: 1. I hate dessert; 2. I hate sweets; 3. I hate dessert. But my best friend Angela is currently on a hunt for the best macarons in NYC so upon researching, I decided to try out Madeleine Patisserie. It is a small, cute café that welcomes you with an assortment of colorful macarons and fruit tarts. Filled in glass jars above the counter are madeleines, another delicacy I don’t pay particular attention to as well. We ordered two macarons each, mine being Passion Fruit and Lemon. We also ordered a fruit tart and cappuccinos. Macarons were definitely not what I expected to taste: it was soft at first bite, chewy on the second bite, and tart-like cream on the third bite. I loved it! But because of the rich taste, I could not get myself to eat more than two. The cappuccinos were generously filled with foam way above the brim and the foam complemented the richness of the macarons perfectly. The fruit tart was exactly what I was hoping for it to be: lightly glazed, filled with an assortment of berries, and filling being a perfect blend of tart and sweet.

I will now gladly join Angela on a macaron hunt. Stay tuned.

Blessing in Disguise

There are many blessings in life and I do believe that it’s all about perspective. Ever have a cup of cappuccino that made you smile after each and every sip? Well, I did. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Andy, who introduced me to this tiny but beautiful joint, I received a blessing in a cup. It was one of those delightful moments where you casually carry on a conversation with a friend, pay for the cup of cappuccino, put in your fixings (mine is splenda), as you’re still happily conversing, take a sip of your drink, and the world comes to a halt. That was exactly what La Colombe offered plus more. Because they also have another treat: olive oil loaf. Sounds gross? Tastes delicious. Also featured in today's Serious Eats NY!

I came back from Korea recently and this was one of my favorite New York moment since I’ve been back: Soho, coffee, beauty, and culture. Loves it.

La Colombe - 270 Lafayette Street, New York NY 10012

Ink for Your Mouth!

For my beloved cousin Jennifer’s birthday, us ladies ventured out to Bacaro, a complete hole-in-the-wall joint; so much that there isn’t even a sign outside to indicate that we arrived to the correct location. We were led to their downstairs portion of the place and to all of our surprises, it felt as if we were entering into a mystical cave as confirmed by their rock and wood interior. Since reservations are not accepted, we were lucky to be seated right away, however at a communal table. It wasn’t as intimate as we would have liked for it to be but seat and table nonetheless.

I initially read about this place on Serious Eats NY and was immediately intrigued by their cuttlefish ink pasta (see image below). My first experience with ink pasta was Soccarat’s Arroz Negro and it was fantastic. We ordered the stuffed artichoke, fried rice balls, spicy fried meatballs, creamed codfish over polenta, and the pasta with cuttlefish ink. The stuffed artichoke, fried rice balls, and the pasta were excellent! The spicy fried meatballs and the codfish were whatever: the meatballs were too small, hence the portion was practically nonexistent, and the codfish dish was confusing because it didn’t really have an identity as to what it is supposed to be. The stuffed artichoke is great if you like artichoke, like me, because I ended up practically eating the whole thing and using the bread to wipe the bowl also. The fried rice balls (see image below) was to perfection as it is filled with cheese that is oozing out with bits and pieces of vegetables and rice. The pasta is definitely not a dish you should order if you’re on a date because not only is the dish literally ink black but so will your teeth, your lips, and the napkin you use to wipe your black lips and teeth. What helps a bit is that the place itself is dark so that the blackness would be as visible in comparison to one eating at a brightly lit place. The taste itself is full of warmth. Prior to us going, my friend asked how cuttlefish ink tasted like and the only adjectives that I can use to describe it is that it’s warm, comforting, smooth, and hearty. If you can imagine anything to taste warm and comforting rather than the texture feeling warm or comfortable, this is it.

Would I go back? Definitely! The price point is excellent, averaging around $13-$15 entrée. Good luck finding the place!

Bacaro

136 Division St. NYC

212-941-5060

www.bacaronyc.com

*images courtesy of meetnowlive.com and Serious Eats NY.