Fig and Olives - Meatpacking District

Nothing seems quite more welcoming than walking into a warmly lit atmosphere, greeted by floor to ceiling arrangement of assorted bottles of olive oil and imported olives from various parts of the Mediterranean. This was the exact way I entered Fig and Olives, Meatpacking District. As I was waiting for David, I couldn't help but to be astonished by the dimly lit and beautifully designed decor of the restaurant. The arrangement of wine bottles by the bar, situated at the center of the restaurant, mimicked the welcoming olive oil bottles, with abundant bottles of wine seemingly overflowing as a backdrop of the bartender. It is definitely your effortlessly chic kind of an ambiance, carefully denoting the ambiance of the surrounding location and boutiques.

Only if the food was as fabulous as the ambiance.

What was fabulous, however, was their creative efforts in incorporating the different olive oils into each dish. You're served immediately upon seating a basket of bread with three different types of olive oil for dipping. It was fun and intriguing, definitely set off our dining experience just as I had wanted. We ordered mushroom soup, paired with parmesan crostini, a dish of mixed olives, and fig & olive salad for appetizer. The mushroom soup was absolutely to die for: almost a grated texture-filled tasting of mushrooms topped with white truffle oil, complemented by the parmesan crostini which was topped with mushrooms. It was a perfect taste of a mushroom soup and I fell absolutely in love. The fig & olive salad was great with the combinations of goat cheese, gorgonzola, and parmesan cheese with obviously figs and olives on top of mixed greens. A different kind of oil was used for the salad, again playing on their creative usage of the oil.

See, it was the main dish that was disappointing, and it can be because of the dish I chose. I ordered trio del mar, a tasting dish of scallop, salmon, and branzino. It was the couscous that set it off on the wrong foot because I was surprised by the unexpected sweetness of the couscous and the salmon. It was almost a teriyaki tasting sauce of some sort, which could've been good, had I been prepared for it. With the smooth and a directional course my palate was taking from the appetizer, I was expecting something salty; not sweet. It just went downhill from here on and left me bittersweet (no pun intended). David, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed his grilled lamb skewers. Though not a huge fan of lamb, the quality of the meat was excellent, I must say. I can't comment much on the taste given the above circumstances. 

I concluded that Fig & Olive would be an excellent lunch bistro and one would leave absolutely ecstatic with their dining experience. See, I also think it's the decor that created more room for disappointment because you'd think the food would always be up to par with the ambience a place brings but that is unfortunately and hardly the case. Maybe that's why hole-in-the-wall places are just so good because you really have zero expectations and nothing seems promising that when they bring about a dish a bit greater than mediocre, it is deemed even greater because it's unexpected. Food for thought! (Again, no pun intended. I'm on a roll today!)

*i took the pics this time again!

Pancake House

I can't believe that I've been resorting to Fort Lee News Bar all this time for brunch to avoid a) going to the bagel shop on Bergen Blvd; b) diner; c) McDonald's, Burger King, and the whole fast food breakfast ordeal including Dunkin Donuts. It is not to say that the above listed places are not up to par. They're delicious in their own ways, when you're up for it. But a legit breakfast joint with array varieties of pancakes, eggs, sausages, etc. didn't exist for me nearby where I live.... until I discovered Pancake House.

My first time at Pancake House was unfortunately this past Valentine's Day with David, which we both proclaim for it to be the best Valentine's Day ever (99% due to the food!). I personally hate pancakes, which couldve been the reason why I never ventured out to Pancake House, especially when it is only a 5 minute drive from my house. When David and I went, we both ordered egg dishes: Eggs Michael and Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict is your everyday eggs benedict but Eggs Michael was a creative spin to the poached egg family but with mushroom sauce and sausage instead of ham and holladaise sauce. We devoured it in a heartbeat accompanied by the freshest squeezed orange juice I've honestly ever had along with the home fries that were seasoned and crisped with perfection, and not so greasy either!!! 

So after my fabulous dining experience, I brought my anti-Jersey Queens cousins and their immediate reaction upon their first bite was, "I'd come back to Jersey again just to go to Pancake House!" Thanks to my pancake loving cousin Jenn, I was able to try Banana Pancakes along with Jasmin's (my name twin cousin though we call her E since she lacks an e at the end of her name) Pigs in a Blanket of sort: sausage wrapped in pancakes! I must say that their pancake batter is quite fabulous, making a pancake hater enjoy the pancakes! 

Sausage wrapped in pancake!

Banana pancakes!

*I finally decided to take pics after stealing images off the web!

My only complaint is that they don't serve brunch beverages i.e. Bloody Mary, Mimosa, etc but I guess it helps the bill cost down because you'd hardly pay over $20 per person. And I wished that they had french fries to substitute for the home fries but I feel like if they did have french fries, it would be super greasy for some odd reason.

Maybe because it's the recession or the array of unimpressive bistros and restaurants I find myself going to but I truly adore and enjoy small joints such as this that prefaces good and quality food over the decor and scene. 

Soccarat Paella Bar & Momofuku Milk Bar

Our long awaited Foodies come again, joined by our honorary guest Helen!

We ventured out for paella in the sleet and snow of last night’s unpleasant weather only to have it be turned completely around by our great company and of course delightful meal. See, that’s the greatest thing about Foodies. Most people who join us for Foodies night are overwhelmed and amazed at how animated and excited we are to talk about food and just food. But the greater underlying beauty of Foodies is that through these conversations, we take part in each other’s love through our common love of food and that in itself is bliss! Now, back to food.

Soccarat Paella Bar

• 259 W 19th St, New York 10011
• (Btwn 7th & 8th Ave)

Soccarat Paella Bar is a tiny restaurant with a long table for people to share. Fortunately, we were able to get a small round table of our own which served us right in terms of intimacy and privacy we were able to have. One thing you need to know about us Foodies is that we eat. A lot. And order. A lot. We’ve had five of their tapas: Pan Tomaca (toasted bread, fresh tomato, olive oil), ham to go alongside Pan Tomaca, one of their special octopus and scallops dish, Alcachofas Fritas (fried artichokes), and potato dish with garlic aioli. My favorite was the potato dish because of the garlic aioli – we all love aioli. So much that we asked for a side of it, only to be disappointed by the mayo-filled-ness of it (Reggie, your aioli still rates #1 in my book!). Then came the paellas. Now, we started off with Paella de Carne and Fideua Negra de Coditos, as recommended by New York Times’ restaurant critic, Frank Bruni. I learned that fideua is paella of sort, except with noodles instead of rice. I also learned that black squid ink is quite nice especially the way it comfortingly settles upon each bite. We loved Paella de Carne far more than Fideua so we ordered another paella, Paella Valenciana. This turned out to be my favorite of the three because of the richness in flavor and seasoning. I absolutely loved that each paella was filled with soccarat (burned rice = noo roong jee) which enhanced the texture as well as the flavor of the ordinary paella you’d taste from average Joe Spanish restaurant. After filling ourselves to death with all of this food along with 3 bottles of wine, we made our way to Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert.

I was recommended to go to Momofuku Milk Bar  by Ahyun and Mike and being that I am a fan of Momofuku and NOT dessert (I don’t like dessert), of course, I needed to give it a try. Besides, the rest of Foodies love dessert so we definitely had to go. The atmosphere isn’t impressive; more of a factory-like setting but that’s what makes Momofuku Milk Bar all the more interesting. We had Orange Julius (soft serve sorbet), Banana Cake, Candy Bar Pie, and of course the pork buns. I love their pork buns. The breading, the meat, and the cucumber all combined into one is just absolutely fantastic. Though, I must say, pork buns did taste better at Momofuku Noodle Bar than at the Milk Bar. Banana cake’s inside filling, in which we were completely convinced that it was made of wafers, actually turned out to be hazelnut brittle. It’s the hazelnut brittle filling that made the banana cake so delightful because of the crunchy texture, the burned sugar taste, with the denseness of the banana cake itself. The Candy Bar Pie was super sweet, I thought, and almost tasted identical to a giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie (the one with the hard cookie on the bottom of the candy), which wasn’t too impressive. But the Orange Julius finished and washed off all the sweetness from the dessert quite well because it was so refreshing and cold.

Momofuku Milk Bar

207 Second Ave., East Village

This is why Foodies are so important to me. Along with all the amazingness of our group, they inspire me to write as extensively as I just did.

Spanish-ed out,

Jasmine 

Finally an Alternative Chipotle! Big Enchilada

Thank God for Alex pushing me to drink 1.5 liter of water per day and thank God for having to go to the bathroom 7 times a day as a result and thank God for running into Michael en route to the bathroom for the 7^th time today. Because otherwise, I would not have had this amazing lunch. Ever.

I love Mexican food. No. I absolutely and wholeheartedly adore Mexican food. It’s a perfect combination of spicy and not nauseating food that is cream-less, vegetable-full, and my favorite, jalapeño-filled. On my way to the bathroom, I nonchalantly ask Michael where he is going and he says that he’s going to try out the burrito place Melissa always goes. He excitedly asks me to join him and at that moment, well, at any moment, buying lunch always sounds more appetizing than my frozen Lean Cuisine (recession + eating healthy = Lean Cuisine). I drag Alex to join on the bandwagon and we put our coats on to brave the frigid cold to truck ourselves to Big Enchilada (28 East 12^th Street, corner of University Place).

It looks authentic and it is small: a perfect hole-in-the-wall, thus, my favorite. Upon massive consultations and difficult decisions, I order the Mega Bowl: a combination of Mexican rice, beans (if you choose, which I didn’t because I don’t like beans), guacamole, lettuce, tomato, choice of chicken or steak (I choose steak!), and of course, I added jalapeño peppers. We rushed back as soon as we could (a whole 2 blocks) to eat the food and it’s honestly one of the most authentic* Mexican food I’ve had thus far in the city. What I liked most about it is that after eating the entire dish, I don’t feel greasy or necessarily full. The steak is grilled, not fried, so it leaves the charcoal after-taste upon bite. The vegetables are extremely fresh and the rice is the yellow “Goya” type of rice and not artificially-Mexican-imitated rice. Mega bowl is similar to Chipotle’s Burrito Bowl except, hopefully, crossing all fingers, less calorie intake than the Burrito Bowl. The best part of it all is that the entire Mega Bowl plus soda (or you can opt for their soup) was $9.99 plus tax.

I should have taken a picture of the Mega Bowl but I was way too excited to eat it that I didn’t think to whip out my camera. I guess you must try it for yourself!

I. AM. SO. HAPPY.

Excitedly finishing this entry,

Jasmine

*Please note that my standards for authenticity in Mexican food is very skewed, being that I am not of a Hispanic descent nor do I have extensive knowledge of authentic Mexican cuisine. My ratings are based on my past trips taken to Mexico and thus, it is not meant to offend what may deemed to be “true” authenticity of Mexican cuisine.

Balthazar

Another renowned brunch haven I’ve been dying to try …

And another poached egg dish and a Bloody Mary later … here I am.

Jane and I had a brunch date for her birthday this weekend.  We are both avid lovers of Bloody Mary after discovering it for the first time (and skeptically trying it together!) at Stephanie’s on Newbury Street in Boston.  We shared a Beet salad – I’m not a huge fan of beets because I think the color scares me a bit but Jane likes beets so I gave it a try. I liked the salad because there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of beet but actually an even proportion of beets to greens. I wish they gave us more than two small triangular pieces of gorgonzola cheese but overall, the salad was proportioned just right and made it enjoyable. I ordered Eggs Florentine: poached eggs with spinach, artichoke in hollandaise sauce and Jane ordered Eggs Benedict. I was a bit surprised that the Eggs Florentine was served in a skillet rather than a plate but nonetheless, it worked better because it stored all the juice overflowing from the spinach and the eggs. It was a bit heavy for a brunch egg dish and it was definitely very rich in taste. I didn’t get a chance to try the Eggs Benedict but from the looks of it, it looked standard, ordinary Eggs Benedict dish. Sometimes, the safe way may be the best way. You’d like Balthazar’s Bloody Mary if you prefer more liquid than the chunky content of the drink. I like Bloody Marys with lots of horseradish, enough so that with every sip, you can chew the horseradish bits. Balthazar’s Bloody Mary was liquid-y and very good! I was pleasantly surprised because it didn’t necessary look that great (they didn’t include celery = minus points on aesthetic presentation).

We both loved the ambiance, maybe because we had great seats, where we can see the entire restaurant. I’ve been there for a private event before so I didn’t have the opportunity to really observe the scene or the crowd. We almost liked the crowded, close-seat structure for this reason and perhaps it is the ambiance and great company that enhanced the taste of our brunch.

And thanks to NYMag.com for providing me with these images. HEHE.

Pastis & Saint's Alp Teahouse

I don’t know why it took me this long to finally have brunch at Pastis.

And it was good; not fabulous. Now, I know I’ve been a big negative of the places I’ve dined recently but let’s keep it real guys. $50/meal and/or 5 star restaurants never really guarantee excellent dining experience.

I am a huge fan of eggs benedict, especially the one that includes salmon. Every time I have brunch, I always get eggs benedict of sort if not an egg included dish. Why? I hate anything breaded. I’ll eat it but I don’t enjoy it. Therefore, especially for brunch, it eliminates pancakes, waffles, French toast … you get the picture. I am also a huge fan of brunch drinks. It is my absolute favorite. I die for bloody marys, mimosas, and prosecca and I heart fresh-squeezed orange juice, excellent cup of coffee, perfectly brewed cup of tea, foam-filled cappuccinos, and foam-less lattes (I know. I’m very specific when it comes to latte vs. cappuccinos).

So at Pastis, of course, I ordered eggs Norwegian, which was an eggs benedict with salmon. The portions were actually generous, which came as bit of a surprise. It was good but I still go by Sarabeth’s having the BEST eggs benedict thus far. The home fries were excellent and the bloody mary was decent. Maybe that’s why I love Sarabeth’s so much because … they have the best eggs benedict and the best bloody mary: my two most important items on a brunch menu. So perhaps, I am biased. But during the entire brunch, I was stealing fries from Maureen and Jen simultaneously because they were SO amazing. Perfectly crisp and not oily. Fabulous. I love fries. I will definitely go back to try their french onion soup and other appetizers. i heard great things, more so than their brunch menu.

Now, on to Saint’s Alp Teahouse. It is AMAZING. I think by far the best bubble tea place in the city. I’ve been to Ten Ren and random places all throughout Chinatown and Saint’s Alp Teahouse is excellent. It is excellent because it’s low in cost, perfect amount of chew in tapioca, and abundant in variety. I’ve gone there twice and both times I ordered pink grapefruit nectar. I’ve also tried the almond milk tea and taro milk tea and both are fabulously delicious as well. They seem to serve food as well from the neighboring tables and I’m curious to see how their food would be. That will be next time. That is all!

Jasmine

Bar Stuzzichini

Our team went to Bar Stuzzichini for holiday drinks and dinner last night. I’ve been here exactly a year ago for holiday dinner with SATC ladies and I remember not being too fond of this place?  Upon random meanderings around the area, not to mention our lack of options considering we were trying to reserve tables for party of 9 at 7:30pm, this is where we ended up eating.

We first ordered few appetizers including mozzarella, stuffed eggplants, pecorino cheese plate, arugula salad for the table – we requested it to be a serving of 2-3 people since we were waiting for the rest of the party to arrive. Little did we know that the serving that was supposed to be for 2-3 people could’ve been consumed by me alone in 2-3 bites. We doubled the order immediately and also ordered few pasta dishes. Gnocchi was absolutely delectable – I’m not a huge fan of gnocchi for the most part because it’s one of those dishes that are amazing for the first couple of bites and afterwards you can’t eat anymore because it’s too heavy (i.e. fettuccini alfredo). Gnocchi at Bar Stuzzichini is served in tomato sauce with a tint of chili spice, which finishes off each taste with an added spice, my favorite. Taglioni was also good except for the interesting (not exactly in a positive way) pistachio after taste with each bite. If you like pistachio, however, this may be a good choice for you. I ordered the linguine alle vongole which was a standard pasta dish with New Zealand clams in white wine and garlic sauce. I wished it was more flavorful because it seemed to be missing both the heartiness of pasta as well as the warm, garlic-filled taste of the sauce. The linguini was also a bit undercooked which added unto the unheartiness of the dish.

I still don’t get the hype of this place. It’s always rated highly with such great reviews but I still don’t see it.

I could’ve sat there and ate plates and plates of the pecorino cheese plate (it was AMAZING. TRULY AMAZING) but I mean, you can always buy a block from Whole Foods and create a plate at home. Not to mention their ridiculously tiny portions … sigh. See, the only excuse for a restaurant to have tiny portions is if a) the décor is phenomenal; b) service is beyond excellent; c) a restaurant with a celebrity chef but even so, their portions are quite generous; d) it’s an extreme trendy and celeb-filled restaurant. This place was unfortunately none of the above. Disheartening, I know.