Marcus Samuelsson fundraiser brunch

Occasion: Fundraiser for his charity, Horn of Africa
Location: Marcus Samuelsson's apartment in Harlem
Edibles: some kind of spiced rice with bay; spicy stewed chicken legs; mashed lentils; lamb shank stew; collard greens; bread and crèpes and little corn muffins

Musings: I quite liked Swedish-Ethiopian chef Marcus Samuelsson from Top Chef Masters, so I signed up for this brunch.

Marcus' apartment is fairly normal, the most striking feature being the enormous outdoor patio space, perfect for entertaining. The people at the party were the New York-iest people I've ever seen. It looked the way New York parties do in the movies - lots of hipsters and models and artists, people dressed in clothes that are retro or futuristic or both.

Mark and I mostly tucked ourselves in a corner, chowing down and people-watching. Marcus eventually came over to shake our hands and thank us for coming. Really classy guy.

The food was really hearty and filling. My favorite was the lamb shanks, which were made by Maya Samuelsson. Who, by the way, is a gorgeous Amazon of a woman who towers over her husband when she's in heels. She's the one going to Africa to distribute the food and other supplies funded by the donations. Hope her trip goes smoothly!

Ed's Chowder House

Occasion: Post-ballet (the Mariinsky doing Anna Karenina) dinner with Winnie
Location: Ed's Chowder House on 63rd and Broadway
Edibles: chowder sampler, a couple of raw oysters, and a share of the scallop ravioli

Musings: Wow, for a place calling themselves a "Chowder House," the chowders they make are pretty lame. The New England and the corn were both insanely, insanely rich, and not in a good way. I actually like Hale & Hearty's corn chowder better.

Winnie did make an offhand comment that I thought was interesting. She said, "Maybe I've been eating crappy canned chowder for so long that I can't tell what a good one is supposed to taste like?" I immediately disagreed. While some foods are an acquired taste, chowder is not one of them. I mean, it's not like it's durian or sea urchin or something - there's nothing challenging in a simple chowder at all. Either the chef gets the texture and flavors right, or they don't.

I would assert that, for 90% of foods, you can tell whether it's good or not just by putting it in your mouth. I think the visceral reaction is absolutely valid. Think about the last time you had a great piece of fruit.

That's not to say that you should give up on something after a single try. I'm always trying to get people to try tofu that's properly and flavorfully prepared.

Anyhow, back to Ed's. Winnie and I were both cream-and-butter'ed out by the chowders but we still enjoyed the scallop ravioli (which has a creamy sauce). It's really quite yummy. It's only an appetizer portion but given its richness I don't think you need more.

If I ever come back to this place, the meal to get is the raw oysters to start and the scallop ravioli.

Markt

Occasion: Brunch with Abby, Elizabeth, Jill and Katie
Location: Markt on 6th and 21st (marktrestaurant.com)
Edibles: croque-monsieur with a side of bacon

Musing: Yeah, don't get the croque-monsieur here. Their version is thin, dry and Béchamel sauce-less. On the bright side, it was surprisingly uncrowded for a weekend and they made the best coffee I've had in ages. (French press, in case you're wondering. Only $3.) Also, they only charged a moderately exorbitant $4 for a side of bacon.

I'd try it again - I'm sure there's something on this menu I'd like, though it for sure wasn't what I ordered today. Maybe the Benedict. The pain perdu that Abby had looked promising as well.

Cafe Ronda

Occasion: Dinner with Abby and Jill
Location: Cafe Ronda on Columbus between 71st and 72nd (caferonda.com)
Edibles: calamares fritos; gambas al ajillo; spinach salad with goat cheese

Musings: While waiting for the girls, I ordered a cocktail at the bar. The drink was rum-based, but what their drink menu didn't mention was that they used coconut rum to make it. I really don't like coconut - it reminds me too strongly of sunscreen. Over a period of about 20 minutes, I took maybe two or three small sips of the drink. The bartender finally asked me if I liked it, and I told her about my coconut-suncreen thing. At which point she did nothing. Didn't comp the drink, didn't offer to make me a new one with regular rum. Boo. What NOT to do in terms of customer service.

The calamari was a nice big dish at $9. Inexplicably, the $11 shrimp were puny and came in a tiny dish.

Bottom line: Give it a pass - there are lots of better options on the UWS.

A Matter of Taste

Directed by Sally Rowe (amatteroftastethefilm.com)
Featuring Paul Liebrandt, chef-owner of Corton
(cortonnyc.com)

My review: 3/5 stars

This film follows Paul Liebrandt over a decade and stints at three restaurants. It's not so much about cooking, or even food, but rather the career trajectory of a chef.

Liebrandt's story shows how difficult it can be to find and maintain success in the restaurant industry, even when most people agree that you're a damn fine chef. He encounters such obstacles as a horrible economy for restaurant financing, a horrible economy for fine-dining customers, the capricious decisions of management, and a new Times critic who intrinsically likes another style of food. Through all of that, he sticks to his guns and keeps cooking the food that he loves.

The film does have a happy ending with his current restaurant, Corton, backed by Drew Nieporent. Finally, finally, it all comes together. He even manages to squeeze three stars out of Frank Bruni.

I happened to see the premiere screening at Tribeca, and Paul Liebrandt and the director did a Q&A afterwards. The poor director was pretty neglected; all the questions were for Liebrandt. He talked predictably about having passion and perseverence. (That's him at the podium. The director is in the yellow blouse, to left.)

[Postscript: The film premiered on HBO July 13, 2011.]

Doughnut Plant

Location: 23rd between 7th and 8th

Doughnut Plant makes these huge, very chewy, very bread-y doughnuts, $3 each. I got one of the fresh strawberry and one peanut butter and jelly.

The strawberry had a nice scent, but any flavor of fresh strawberries was overwhelmed by the amount of sugar in the glaze. I liked the balance of the PBJ doughnut (a jelly-filled doughnut with peanut butter glaze) better. But I personally thought they both had way too much glaze, which tended to crack and get all over everything.

An interesting novelty, but I don't think this is going to be the next dessert craze.

Momoya

Occasion: Post-movie dinner
Location: Momoya on 7th Ave and 21st (momoyanyc.com)
Edibles: chef's choice sushi dinner

Musings: Of course, I walked out of "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" just starving, and dying for sushi. After a few blocks of aimless wandering failed to uncover a sushi place, I asked a gay guy walking his dog for a recommendation (because a dog's a good indication that the walker lives in the neighborhood). The guy sent me to Momoya. (Hilariously, he didn't remember what corner it was on in terms of ordinal directions, but did remember that it was where some bar or club named Merkin used to be. Oh, New York.)

The chef's tasting included ten pieces of nigiri sushi and one roll. The Black Dynamite roll I picked had a bit too much going on with two sauces and multiple fillings.

The sushi was likewise overly complicated. There were lots of garnishes piled on top that made it impossible to dip the sushi in soy sauce. And they didn't make much sense, e.g. a slice of jalapeno and some caviar on the fluke. The best pieces were the eel and the rock crab.

A nice dinner, and one that certainly hit the spot after the movie. But not worth $50.

Souvlaki GR

Location: Foodtruck on the corner of 21st and 6th (souvlakigr.com)

It's hard to see in my crappy bb picture, but the guy taking orders had a handlebar mustache, with the waxed curly ends and everything. Made me smile.

I ordered the chicken pita souvlaki, which is a chicken kebab (de-skewered) wrapped in a pita with some sliced tomato, onion, french fries (oddly enough), and tzatziki. It was okay, but not much food for $4. Really just a little snack. Even for lunch, you'd have to get two.

Alternatively, you can get 5 skewers for $7 (or one for $1.75). For a meat-tooth like me, that seems like the better bet.

Part II, 4/28 - I came back and got the mixed skewers. (The truck's really close to the Tribeca Film Festival Volunteer's Lounge.) MUCH better deal. They threw in an extra skewer, so I had six - three each of the pork and the chicken. Comes with little pita triangles and two containers of tzatziki. I was stuffed when I finished!

The pork is a wee bit dry. If you're getting the pita wrap, I'd definitely get the chicken. With the mixed skewers, one or two pork one at most.

Ember Room

Occasion: Pre-theatre (Importance of Being Earnest) dinner with Amy, Howard, Brigid, John and Josh
Location: Ember Room on 9th between 45th and 46th (emberroom.com)
Edibles: I had the miso eggplant and the oxtail; Josh had the shrimp satay and Korean BBQ fried rice; we also had the mushroom salad, chocolate baby back ribs and the slider trio on the table, among others (I don't remember precisely who ordered what)

Musings: Ember Room is a new Todd English restaurant in the Hell's Kitchen / theatre district area. Unsurprisingly, the service felt like it hadn't quite settled down into a comfortable routine yet. We were eating pretty early and the restaurant was half-empty, but they had a bit of a delay in seating us and then didn't have enough menus to go around once they did.

The waitress recommended that we order tapas-style and share, but the portions are so small that they're really only practical for two people to share, not a whole table. The only dish big enough for multiple people to try was Amy's mushroom salad.

I was not impressed by the food, as I'm generally not by fusion cuisine. I thought my two dishes tasted overly sweet, and flavors were heavy-handed and muddled. It's like the food that was all the rage twenty years ago when chefs though it would be rad to put soy sauce, miso and wasabi in everything. With all the delicious, authentic and cheap Asian food available in the city, why bother with this junk?

The hunt for a good theatre district restaurant continues....

Chai

Occasion: Pre-theatre (Arcadia) dinner with Winnie and Erin
Location: Chai on 55th and 8th (chai-restaurants.com)
Edibles: duck salad; beef stir-fry; cold glass noodles

Musings: We tried this place reluctantly, having not budgeted enough wait time to get seated at Yakitori Totto. The theatre district is infamous for having dismal dining options, and unfortunately Chai is a place that proves the rule.

It's a tiny space, and they really crammed the tables in. The table next to ours was pretty much inaccessible. The waitress had to reach over our heads to serve them, and couldn't even fill water glasses without the diners passing them to her. If the owners were really so desperate for extra seats, they should have foregone the large water fountain behind our table. Which is quite poorly situated anyway - I kept worrying I'd knock my purse or my coat into it accidentally.

When it came time to order, they didn't have any of the three dishes Erin wanted to try. I also heard them tell another table that they only had two of their desserts available, one of them being just ice-cream. My guess is that they were too ambitious with the menu when they started out, and have since trimmed it drastically to keep food waste down.

Of the dishes we ordered, the beef was the only decent one. The cubes of beef were surprisingly tender and the dish overall was pretty flavorful. The glass noodles were completely waterlogged, like they hadn't drained the noodles properly before dressing them. The duck salad the worst - the pieces of duck were totally dessicated and tasted like nothing so much as balsa wood.

In any other NYC neighborhood, this place wouldn't last three months. But with a steady stream of clueless theatre-going tourists, who knows? Do yourself a favor at least, and give Chai a wide berth.

Eataly

Occasion: Dinner with Josh
Location: Pasta / Pizza station at Eataly, on 5th between 23rd and 24th (newyork.eataly.it)
Edibles: Fettucine with oxtail ragu for me; pesto lasagna for Josh; tiramisu and gelato for dessert

Musings: After two failed visits (driven out by the crowds and long waits both times), I finally managed to eat here. The trick is clearly to come early - like, 5 or 6pm - and on a weekday.

As it was a cold and dreary walk over, my first thought was to get me some carbs. Off to the Pasta / Pizza station. We had a short wait for our table, and passed the time by wandering around. There's plenty to browse and drool over, so the wait is not a complete chore. And there are samples to be had! I nibbled on some celery root shavings with olive oil.

Our meal at Pasta / Pizza was pretty good overall. To start, I was pleased that they do a generous pour on the wine, and that there were lots of choices sub-$10.

A small step backward with the antipasto plate. It's not cheap at $13 and the portions of each are miniscule. I'd not get this again.

Really good, fresh, al dente noodles. My fettucine was crying out for some grated cheese, but it was never offered. I also stuck my fork in Josh's plate, and while I liked the flavor of the lasagna, it's pretty heavy with béchamel and a whole plate would have been too much for me.

We left Pasta / Pizza for dessert. I got a scoop of pear and vanilla at the gelato stand - $5 a pop for a small cup. It got a little cloying towards the end, but the flavor is really unique and memorable. Josh's chocolate was nice too, but you can get the same thing at any number of places.

I also got a divine tiramisu cup - just couldn't resist. $6.

Eataly has a casual, marketplace ambiance, but you'll probably end up spending as much as if you went to a proper restaurant. I'd definitely come back to try the seafood place, and the vegetable place. It'd also be good for dessert and coffee, maybe after a Shack burger.

Burger Joint

Occasion: Dinner with Josh before the Phil (harmonic, that is)
Location: Burger Joint, behind a velvet curtain in the lobby of the Parker Meridien. No joke. Hotel's on 57th between 6th and 7th. (parkermeridien.com/eat4.php)
Edibles: burger and fries, chocolate milkshake

Musings: For its bizarre location and retro ambiance, A+ for sure. For the burgers, B. They don't season their patties, and the bun is generic grocery store stuff. Not as good as my beloved Shake Shack.

Kang Suh

Occasion: Pre-Knicks dinner with Robert, Nimish and Jenny
Location: Kang Suh on 32nd and B'way (kangsuh32.com)
Edibles: japchae (stir-fried glass noodles); seafood scallion pancake; kalbi (bbq short rib); ddeokbokki (cylindrical rice cakes in spicy sauce); bibim bop (rice with fixins'); plus lots of little dishes (complimentary; chef's choice but always includes kimchi)

Musings: I've been coming to Kang Suh for over ten years now. To be brutally honest, the food is solid but the décor is perfunctory, the service is brusque at best, and it's not particularly easy on the wallet.

So what keeps bringing me back? First, consistency. The prices have inched up over the years, but the food still tastes exactly the same as it did when I first ate here. And they never waver - the food just *always* tastes that way, no better and no worse. Given all the staff and supplier changes they must go through, that's pretty amazing.

Its location also works in its favor - just off Herald Square, it's a block away from MSG and surrounded by karaoke places.

You never need reservations. They can get you in and out quickly. My mom loves their spicy tofu pot. And they're open 24 hours a day. That's right - you can get Korean bbq at Kang Suh at 4:00 a.m. if you want.

So while Kang Suh will never make any "best of" lists, I've eaten here an awful lot and will undoubtedly continue to do so as long as I'm in the city.

Oh, and Melo? Welcome home, dude!!

Le Grainne Cafe

Occasion: Brunch with Morgan (former Death Star co-worker)

Location: Le Grainne Cafe on 21st and 9th (legrainnecafe.com)
Edibles: I had the croque-madame; Morgan had some poached eggs with a side of fruit salad

Musings: I often find myself meeting people in Chelsea; for my UWS-dwelling friends, it's a nice locational compromise. (Just one direction of travel for each of us - south for them and west for me.) But I'm usually hard-pressed to suggest a place to eat, other than Tia Pol. So Le Grainne is a nice discovery. The brunch was casual and cosy, with solid, comforting food at a decent price. I'd guess they serve a decent dinner too.

Morgan, great catching up! Don't be a stranger.

[Postscript: Went to Billy's after for some yummy baked goods - it's conveniently right across the street.]

Landmarc

Occasion: Catch-up dinner with Jill and Amy
Location: Landmark, on the third floor of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle
Edibles: I had the pork chop with spinach and roasted apples and onions; Jill and Amy, possessing more self-restraint, had salads

Musings: Landmarc straddles the fine line between being appealing to tourists and still acceptable to locals. The décor is a sort of a generic sleek-modern. It's a gigantic space and the benefit is that you rarely have to wait for a table. The view over the renovated Columbus Circle is pretty nice, particularly so at this time of year with all the twinkly lights.

One small minus - it's very expensive to drink here. They don't have any wine by the glass; the smallest unit is the half bottle (so if you normally get two glasses, you will not really be affected). Cocktails are $10-15 and even a draft beer is $8.

Food is similarly priced. I was a little hesitant because it was so expensive, but I was ultimately more than pleased with my main dish. I asked for the chop to be cooked just under medium, and it was perfectly done. Really tender and juicy, with just the hint of blush. Kind of blew my mind, actually. Sigh - bliss is a perfectly-cooked slab of meat.....

The sides were well-chosen, and balanced the richness of the meat and the sauce nicely.

We didn't get it tonight, but their little dessert samplers are fun and tasty. You can also get cotton candy - whimsical! Even if you don't order dessert, you can still have a sweet bite because they give you some homemade caramels with the bill - a classy touch.

Popover Cafe

Occasion: Post-movie (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1) brunch with Robert
Location: Popover Cafe on Amsterdam at 87th (popovercafe.com)
Edibles: I had the Kobe corned beef hash; Robert had the smoked salmon scramble

Musings: I've heard some rave reviews about this place and have been wanting to come for a while. How did it measure up to expectations? Well, let's just say that my old UWS favorites Kitchenette and Good Enough to Eat should not be too worried.

We had a 45-minute wait, but that's pretty much the case for any half decent brunch place on the weekend.

I must say I was disappointed with the food. Their eponymous popover was stone cold and kind of rubbery. I'm not a popover connoisseur or anything, but I think BLT Steak's are better. The fancy $15 Kobe corned beef hash wasn't even as good as the stuff they service in my office canteen, and I'm pretty sure that stuff comes frozen in giant sacks from Costco. The eggs were dry. My hot cider had a ton of cinnamon sprinkled on top and all over the rim of the glass, giving you a mouthful of dust every sip.

Which is all a pity, because Popover Cafe's a cute place - homey and unpretentious. Anyone out there want to talk me into a second visit?

Sapporo

Occasion: Lunch with Kathy and Gerald
Location: Sapporo on 49th between 6th and 7th
Edibles: pork katsu and miso ramen

Musings: The pork katsu is actually a meal in itself, but I ordered it as an appetizer / side dish. It's two enormous pork chops, breaded in panko and fried to crispy perfection, conveniently sliced for easy sharing. Yum.

The ramen was okay, but not particularly memorable. (It certainly didn't help that I had already inhaled an entire pork chop and half a bowl of rice by the time it arrived.) Is Sapporo as good as my go-to, Minca? Sadly, no. It is, however, a decent midtown lunch option.

Note: If you only have an hour for lunch, get there early. We arrived just before noon and there were already people waiting; by the time we left, the line was out the door and down the block.

Otto

Occasion: Dinner with Alfred, in from Toronto for the long weekend.
Location: Otto on 5th Ave at 8th (ottopizzeria.com)
Edibles: three veggies to start (I think it was the beets, the mushrooms and the summer squash); a prosciutto pizza; rigatoni with sausage

Musings: My love for all things Batali continues. I can't believe I haven't been here in over a year!

Otto is an old faithful. The food is reliably tasty and the prices are reasonable. It's casual, dim, loud. And I'm always tickled when they've got the train station schedule board (pictured above) going, that lets you know when your table is ready.

As I've mentioned before, the veg guy at a Batali restaurant is always top-notch. For $4, you get a nice ramekin of the vegetable antipasto of your choice. I recommend that you get several, and don't be shy about asking for more bread. It's always my favorite part of an Otto meal.

For the main course, we considered - but ultimately chickened out of - getting the lardo pizza. We were told by our waiter that it has no sauce or cheese; it's just a crust draped with lardo. Now, I like me some pork fat but it's quite a commitment for two people to split one of these babies. I'd definitely like to try a slice some other time. If you feel the same way, call me. Maybe we can get a group together.

[Note: I also recommend the pizza with the egg - it's simple, but intriguing and yummy. For dessert, the olive oil ice-cream sundae is a good choice. It's got lots of weird toppings but, somehow, it all works together.]

Lupa, part II

Occasion: Dinner with Elizabeth
Location: Lupa on Thompson between Houston and Bleecker (luparestaurant.com)
Edibles: We shared little dishes of broccoli rabe with ricotta, beets with pistachio sauce and sautéed summer squash and zucchini to start; I had the fresh pea pasta for my main; Elizabeth had the spaghetti amatriciana

Musings: I've raved about Lupa before - see the older review here. But I just wanted to add a little additional gushing about the broccoli rabe (the ricotta was the perfect flavor to offset the bitterness of the veg) and my pasta. I'm not usually one to describe food as tasting like colors and feelings and whatnot, but that pasta just tasted so vibrantly green and spring-like, I don't know how else to describe it. Bliss!

By the way, Travertine, let Lupa show you how to serve a proper quartino of wine.

Colicchio and Sons

Occasion: Brunch with Karen, Josie and Jana
Location: Colicchio & Sons on 10th Ave at 15th (colicchioandsons.com)
Edibles: I had the eggs with crispy prosciutto and mushroom ragout; Josie had the burger; Karen had the ricotta and veggie fritata; Jana had the poached eggs with red-eye gravy (I think)

Musings: I wasn't crazy about my dish. It was very soupy, very salty, and the chef inexplicably decided to use whole peppercorns in the mushroom ragout. I encountered quite a few and was forced to be very uncouth and spit them out. Everything else looked fine and tasted fine (I cadged a bite from Karen and Josie) but nothing was mind-blowing.

The dining room is very sleek and spacious, with fantastically high ceilings. I appreciated that they weren't stingy with the AC on a day when it was hot as balls. It's also worth noting that they let us sit around and chat undisturbed for a good long while after we finished eating. (No one was waiting for a table - we're not jerks.)

Still, I suspect it will be quite a while before I come back - partly because of the ho-hum food, but mostly because 10th Ave is SO far west and is a huge pain to get to from where I live. You forgot the cardinal rule of real estate, Tom! Location is everything!