Weekly NYC Blog Post - 10.23.2012

EAST VILLAGE

VON
So sorry Hotel Chantelle but we NEEDED to go somewhere new for once.  So we ended up at Von which is a tucked away cocktail bar on Bleecker that immediately made me think of 1920s Sleep No More.  We headed straight down into the bowels of the bar to the lower basement level where we kicked back in barstools and drank copious amounts of red wine while discussing life.  I hear rumors that on a weekend night this place becomes quite the dance party so be prepared for anything.  I absolutely loved it and will be back!

FINANCIAL DISTRICT

121 Fulton Street
One of my first forays into the FiDi (yeah I try to use annoying monikers whenever possible) was at 121 Fulton Street where I had a delicious meal and a very spicy, nose-clearing cocktail.

Photo Credit: 121 Fulton Street Website

We started with the yellow fin tuna taquitos with mango salsa and red chili vinaigrette.  Not really sure what about them made them taquitos since they look like TACOS to me but whatever.  Unless taquito is spanish for "little taco"....  Anyways they tasted like tuna tartar in a crispy shell -  yummy.

Next up were the buttermilk fried chicken fingers with sweet chili sauce and honey mustard.  I LOVE a good chicken finger and these were SUPER crispy on the outside, not too breaded and filled with canine-rippable meat.  They didn't last long.

And then there were the empanadas with beef, onion and peppers.  I thought these were a little bready and meaty (like...shock....an empanada) but to each their own.

The mac n cheese was pretty standard.  Nothing to write here.

Lastly, I had the Exchange Margarita with Don Julio Blanco, Cointreau, jalepeño, passion fruit, mango puree and lime.  It lit my entire sinus cavity on fire but boy was it good!  Sorry many flavors working together perfectly to make a not to spicy not too sweet not too fruity concoction that you will definitely need to SIP.

I will totally hit this place up again!


LITTLE ITALY

Brinkleys
There was definitely a period of time where I frequented Brinkleys and South Side but I'd never actually ordered food!  I was pleasantly surprised to find my brussels sprouts and kale salad with cherry tomatoes, red onions, sliced apple, toasted almonds and shaved pecorino romano cheese to be VERY good.  There were plenty of toppings (I love salad with my toppings), the portion was large enough to be a meal on its own, and the flavors balanced each other nicely.  The lettuce was nice and crisp too.  My only thing is that paying $15 for a salad at a bar seems a LITTLE excessive.

 Photo Credit: Brinkley's Facebook Page

LOWER EAST SIDE

Schillers
Wow.  I have been to so few places where I am SO disappointed in the food.  I came to Schillers for brunch at the behest of my Aussie friends who were in town.  I'd only ever thought of Schillers as a happy hour spot but apparently they are big on brunch?  I don't know if I'm blind or what but I ordered the scrambled eggs and what arrived from the kitchen was a $2 side of eggs (yes they were indeed scrambled) with nary a seasoning in them.  I had also ordered the blood orange mimosa which tasted like nail polish remover.  One of the worst meals I've had in New York.  Not even sure I can stomach coming back just for drinks.  The only good thing I can say is that the waitress was patient and polite and it was easy to get a table (now I know why).

Photo Credit:  http://nydayoff.wordpress.com/

MIDTOWN

STK
First off thanks to our sales team for taking us to such a fancy lunch last week!  Secondly, I've been to STK in Vegas which was a very luxorious, decadent affair so I was excited to see what the New York spot had to offer.  We started with the tuna tartare with soy honey emulsion, avocado and taro chips and it was divine!  The fish was fresh and in bigger pieces which I like and the taro chip was crispy without being too bready.  Also they seasoned the guacamole which added dimension.  I also had the filet which was nice but nothing too exciting and the mac n cheese which I thought was above average but again nothing specific to say about it.

 

SOHO

Delicatessen
Man either I've become a NYC food snob or I've just had a bad week of restaurants!  I was Halloween costume shopping in Soho and was desperately hungry so my friend and I decided to go to Delicatessen because I'd heard good things.  I started off with a margarita that was HORRIBLE.  Like couldn't even take a sip and then my stomach hurt.  I ordered a beer and left it to die a lonely death.

This made me super apprehensive about the food but the cornbread that came out skillet-hot was warm and crumbly and buttery.  I almost stabbed my friend trying to take down more than my half.  I rounded out the lunch with the The Signature Burger which was a special blend ground beef, crisp pork belly, charred tomato, fried egg and brioche bun lathered with warm “cheese sauce.”  It kind of grossed me out and I love meat.  The pork belly was really fatty, the beef was hard??, and the bun was so "lathered" that everything just fell into pieces in my hands.  In addition to being a pain to eat, the taste didn't merit the effort.  I gave up and ate the fries instead.

Overall not very impressed.  I will not be back.

Photo Credit: http://nyulocal.com

UNION SQUARE

Laut
I've been here countless times for "Thai Friday" lunches with my friends but am always so hungry that I gobble down my food before I manage to take a picture.  This time I restrained myself so you could see what Masak Kicap looks like - Cinnamon, turmeric, star anise, ginger, garlic, shallots, onions, bell peppers, sweet peas & tomatoes with sweet soy sauce tossed with chicken and served with your choice of brown or white rice.  You can also choose your meat - I just went chicken this time.  I love this dish because it's spicy and sweet, the chicken is chunky and fresh, and the veggies are soft but still have a little crunch.  It's also the perfect amount of food.  And the atmosphere and service is impeccable and SO friendly.  I love this place!

WILLIAMSBURG

Brooklyn Bowl
I've heard so many things about this place and my thought has always been "eh bowling."  HOW WRONG WAS I???  This place is like another heaven that I've been missing (on the same level as Standard Biergarten, Frying Pan, etc).  They have music, beer and an 8 piece white fried chicken platter?!?!?!  Why would I EVER leave?  Unfortunately my first experience was tempered by the fact that I was there for a Penguin Prison concert and turns out Penguin Prison wasn't even playing.  WTF.  Granted the other bands were very good and so was my fried chicken and lime/chili grilled corn but come on!  Make sure you don't false advertise people.  I'll definitely be back but I'll be reading the fine print next time.

 

Nitehawk Cinema
Last but not least, Sunday I went to a showing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yes the old-school early '90s slasher flick featuring a young hot Luke Perry and Kristy Swanson's boobs).  I spent the entire movie laughing into my crispy, greasy tater tots.  Yes that's right they serve food and drinks in the movie!  It was a great alternate to drunken Sunday Funday football.  I will definitely be back!

Midwestin' - Trip to Chicago, Illinois, and Oscoda, Michigan

So I headed back to the good ole midwest for a work trip and shoot.  Some new awesome restaurants and also a little travel review for those who love fishing!

First stop was Chicago where I managed to be there on what must have been the most beautiful day of the year.  The city looked gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

For our client lunch we hit up a brand new restaurant, Tavernita, which is a Spanish tapas restaurant with a really trendy, chic vibe.  We ate almost the entire menu so I'm just going to recommend my top favorites from the meal. 

Photo Credit: Tavernita Website

Hamachi with avocado, lime, jalapeño and cucumber - The fish was fresh and the toppings added just enough spicy sourness to make me gobble these down.

Corn pudding with shrimp, poblano chile and herb salad (they put the shrimp on the side for me) - I might as well have face planted into this dish.  It was creamy and slightly salty and slightly sweet and oh yeah... DELICIOUS.  Best thing on the menu.

Pork belly sliders with pickled red onion and fruit jam on a brioche bun - a complexity of flavors that resulted in finger-licking meaty goodness.

Lamb sausage with dijon mustard and house giardinera on an east coast roll - much spicier then anticipated but a very unique taste that definitely excited my taste buds.

Beet & artichoke salad with mixed greens, pickled shallot and valdeón blue cheese - again a lot of interesting flavors and also a lot of different consistencies.. soft beets, crumbly cheese, crunchy artichokes, etc.

The rest of the meal was very good to but just didn't meet the expectations built by the first five dishes I mentioned.  You can check out photos of the rest below though.

Chicken a la plancha with escalivada and castillo extra virgin olive oil

Croquetas with fermín serrano ham, saffron aioli

House-made ravioli with artichoke, ricotta, arugula, piquillo peppers, olives, and saffron butter

  

And then there was dessert which was super tasty.  I would TOTALLY come back here again.  And I heard their cocktails are amazing.

 

I desperately needed to walk off my giant lunch so I decided to take advantage of the weather and visit the Bean!  The actual name of this sculpture is Cloud Gate and is made of stainless steel plates that have been welded together so seamlessly you can't see the seams.  And then of course it has been highly polished so that it glitters in the sun.  It looks like it's made of liquid mercury and you can stand next to it to take crazy photos.  I planned on stopping by for a minute and ended up there for almost an hour.  You can see my favorite crazy photo below.

 

Since I was on a roll with checking things off my Chicago bucket list, I decided to hit up the second to last game of the Cubs baseball season.  They are absolutely terrible and were playing the Astros who are also terrible so it wasn't much of a game, but I was there for Wrigley Field to be honest.  The stadium is AWESOME because it is so old-school.  The scoreboard is still manually updated by a person and since the walls are relatively low all the restaurants bordering the field have rooftop decks where you can sit and watch the game from the outfield without actually attending the game.  Definitely the way to go since the food is probably better and the drinks are cheaper! We had fun cheering on the Cubs even though they lost - their terrible record at least guaranteed us great baseline seats for $30 each.  Glad I made it to a game!  Next time it will have to be a Bears game.

 

With another great trip to Chicago under my belt, I hopped on a plane to Detroit, Michigan, where I picked up a rental car and started my 3.5 hour drive north to Oscoda.  The drive up was gorgeous with all the leaves changing color for fall.  I finally arrived at the AmericInn around 7pm to check in.  The hotel was a rustic, log cabin esk accomodation.  I'd been "upgraded" to the $75/night king bed room with a view.  It was huge and very homey.  The reception was also very kind and friendly.

Photo Credit: AmericInn Website

I met up with the production crew (like I said I was there for a shoot) and we headed to what appears to be the only real restaurant, Wiltse's.  I swear the entire town had turned out to the restaurant because they'd heard we were there.  It was probably the coolest thing that's happened in the past five years.  Everyone was so warm and welcoming though.  It was like being adopted into a new family.  For dinner I had to try the special, Michigan Walleye, pan seared.  It literally melted on my tongue...so good.  I was very impressed that a restaurant in essentially the middle of nowhere could have such tasty yet simple dishes.

 

 

The next morning we woke up at 5am and headed to the Au Sable river to start fishing (the shoot).  It was really dark and somewhat cold that morning but within an hour it was completely light... and unfortunately drizzling.  This drizzling elevated into a full fledged downpour about halfway through our excursion and lasted for about an hour and a half.  We were soaked to the bone.  Towards the end of the afternoon the clouds burst apart and the smiley Michigan sun dried us right up.  Oh and we caught a 17lb King Salmon which really crowned the day as a perfect trip downstream.  I probably never need to come back here now that I've seen it but if you are looking for a place far away from the bustle of the city with breathtaking nature and very friendly people I highly recommend Oscoda.