Fette Sau

Occasion: Continuing shenanigans with Yining
Location: Fette Sau on Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn (fettesaubbq.com)
Edibles: we (okay, I) ordered...
2 slices of brisket
1/4 lb pulled pork shoulder
1/4 lb boneless beef rib
1/8 lb of thick-cut bacon (the guy wasn't really supposed to let us order so little, but he let us do it)
1 link of spicy sausage
2 St. Louis style pork ribs
small coleslaw
piece of cornbread

All of the above came out to $40 including tax. Meat-a-palooza!

Before:

After:

Musings: I was chatting with these two hefty guys (I'm talking like 200+ lbs each) while waiting in line. Very nice guys. Told me about an all-you-can-eat Korean bbq place in Queens. After I paid, I heard them order, "What she's having." So there you have it - confirmation that I'm competitive way above my weight class.

My favorite bbq item is baby back ribs. Sadly, these were a bit underdone for my taste. One of my co-workers, who competes in bbq competitions, says that the proper doneness for a rib is when you can take a clean bite, without having to pull (underdone) or having the rest of the meat fall off the bone (overdone). By that standard, Fette Sau's ribs were cooked perfectly - but I personally like them with the meat falling off the bone.

The pulled pork had good texture, though it was slightly lacking in flavor. I don't think it matches Wilfie's awesome pulled pork sliders, or even Great Jones Cafe's. It needs a generous squirt of bbq sauce to be even halfway decent. You can take a pass on this one.

My favorite was the beef rib, a cut so tricky I've never attempted to cook it myself. Absolute perfection here - tender, robust and flavorful. Yining's favorite was the brisket, with the beef rib gaining slightly as we made our way through the tray. So surprisingly enough, in a restaurant named for the majestic pig, the beef won the day.

The sides are also worth mentioning. The coleslaw is actually pretty exotic for a place like this, with hand-cut cabbage, peppers and chunks of apple. The dressing is thin and tastes like sesame - it's got tahini, I think. I'd definitely recommend an order of it to give your palate some relief from all the meat. The cornbread, which is about six inches square and two inches thick, is light and fluffly. Also excellent.

All in all, the best bbq joint I've been to in the city - there isn't even a close second. Fette Sau, I'm going to be back soon. Real, real soon.

Mercado de San Miguel

Occasion: The inaugural meal of the trip!
Location: Mercado de San Miguel, in the Plaza San Miguel, Madrid, Spain
Edibles: we hit several different stalls - more details below

Musings: Foodie heaven!! Winnie and I absolutely gorged ourselves on all kinds of fantastic seafood, snacks and pastries, washed down with wonderfully crisp local white wine. Divine!!

After a quick pass-through to look at the options, we settled on a seafood stall for the first course. We got a plate of octopus with olive oil and paprika, nuked for a minute, then spritzed with lemon juice. Cooked perfectly - really tender, but with just enough chew to it.

We also had oysters on the half shell. These were bigger than I usually like them, but tasty nonetheless.

The real standouts of the day were the langoustines. They were simply prepared - boiled, with a sprinkling of coarse salt and some lemon wedges. But! They had roe! Something new for me. I've had shrimp with roe a few times, but never langoustines. As with the shrimp (or even fish with roe), the meat is a little mealy and not the best. But it's a worthy tradeoff because the roe is wonderful. Be patient - take the time to glean every little bit. And of course, you have the head to slurp! Langoustines are spinier and more heavily armored than shrimp, so it's a bit hazardous, but HOLY MOLEY does it taste amazing. I think my eyes rolled back in my head.

Finally, I had some fresh surf clams. Fantastic.

The stall also served wine in little plastic Dixie cups. Despite the humble presentation, the wine was awesomely delicious: crisp and bracing and the perfect accompaniment to the seafood.

Onward! We hit a little bakery cart for some empanadas. I got one each of the bacalao and the chorizo, and both were excellent.

Next! A cone of olive oil potato chips from this cart. Yummy. (The other half of the case is deep-fried jamón. I tried one, but it was sort of underwhelming. I know.... what a letdown.)

Finally, dessert. Europe is pretty much the only place I can order apple pastries, because they don't always pair apples with cinnamon. This tart was exactly what I was looking for. (Hey, I'm running out of adjectives here!)

So there it is - a truly epic meal. And not a single bobble by any of the vendors we tried. Mercado de San Miguel.... I'm beyond impressed. Bravo!

Menya Musashi

Occasion: The search for authentic ramen.

Location: Menya Musashi in Shinjuku, Tokyo. You can find them at www.m634.com/634/

Edibles: ramen, natch - I had the cold ramen with one pork and one egg (then had to get an extra pork - it was just so good); my mom had the regular hot ramen with one pork and one egg; my brother had the house special hot ramen with three porks

Musings: It's a tiny little unitasker shop. There are maybe twenty seats, four guys in the kitchen. A fun part of the experience is ordering from the ticket machine. (Apparently, this kind of set-up is fairly commonplace in Tokyo - this way, the cooks don't have to handle any money.)

We spent quite some time trying to figure out the options, cobbling together info from my brother's rudimentary Japanese and my mom's Chinese (the source of Japanese kanji characters). Eventually, the kitchen guys took pity on us and sent out an English-speaker to explain the machine.

As it turns out, the machine has three rows, one each for cold ramen, hot ramen, and the house special. Then the columns represent different combinations of pork and egg. The first button is one pork, half an egg. Then one pork, a whole egg. Two porks, half an egg. Three porks. And finally, three porks and half an egg. The eagle-eyed will see that there's a fourth row of buttons further down. The function of most of these remains a mystery to us (side dishes? beverages? cigarettes?), but one was the button for my desired extra piece of pork.

On a hot, swelter-y day, cold ramen REALLY hits the spot. Zaru soba is one of my favorite summer meals, but cold ramen absolutely surpasses it.

The noodles were awesome - thick and really chewy, with a little twisty texture. The pork was likewise awesome. Each piece was a hefty block of meat, luscious and fatty, falling-apart tender, with deep, rich flavor.

Below is the house special with three porks. Looks like a real winner for colder weather.

Best of all, this place was way cheap. It was really just the beer that tipped us over the $10 mark. I have never had better ramen in my life. Unlike yesterday's yakitori, this place gave me a little pang. As good as my Minca is, this is leagues better.

[Note: Japanese people eat fast! In the time it took us to finish, I think they turned the seats next to us three times. And we weren't dawdling.]

In case you were wondering how we found Menya Musashi, the concierge at our hotel had a ramen map for the neighborhood!! How cool is that?

(click to enlarge)

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.

Fishs Eddy

Occasion: Picking up some supplementary glasses and cutlery for the Diego Felix dinner!
Location: Broadway between 19th and 20th (fishseddy.com)

I love, Love, LOVE Fishs Eddy. It's cheap (I started shopping here when I was a student), functional (almost everything is sturdily made and goes in the dishwasher), whimsical and charming. I have pieces from lots of different collections, and my experience is that they mix and match very well.

My personal Fishs Eddy inventory:
- Lots of the now discontinued Cynthia Rowley line: plates with shoes along the rim, soup plates with underwear on them, and bowls with colorful people walking around.
- Three large alphabet bowls.
- Nursery rhyme water glasses. This trip completed my set - I started out with just two of the Little Red Riding Hood but now I have all four designs.
- Half a dozen of their dirt cheap and dishwasher-safe wineglasses. These come out every time I have people over, and have returned their original investment many times over.
- Four old-fashioned ice-cream cups. A housewarming gift from Karen.
- Two huge yellow serving platters. I bought these on clearance for about $2 each and have used them every single time I've entertained since. Love 'em.
- Two long, skinny platters for hors d'oeuvres.

For Karen and Josie's wedding, we New Yorkers put together a gift box of the NY Skyline collection. Fishs Eddy also stocks funky vintage china, stuff with old hotel logos, old airline flatware, stuff like that. If you're more of a minimalist, they have tons of stuff that's just plain white or clear glass. The 99¢ room in the back is a particular treasure trove for the basics.

This trip, I picked up an enormous alphabet platter on sale for $10 (same pattern as my bowls), some short water glasses for 99¢ each and extra knives, forks and spoons at the same price. I also couldn't resist a couple of glasses in the Strip Tea line. They were comparatively expensive at $6.50 each but getting to use a drinking glass featuring a guy pole dancing in buttless chaps is kinda priceless, isn't it?

Kitchenette

Occasion: Brunch with Ben and Rebecca in our old law school stomping grounds
Location: Kitchenette on Amsterdam between 122nd and 123rd (kitchenetterestaurant.com) [Note: another location downtown on Chambers]
Edibles: lumberjack breakfast for me, with berry pancakes, eggs, turkey sausage; omelet for Rebecca; blueberry French toast and a Bloody Mary (an unusual one made with white wine and wasabi) for Ben

Musings: Usually crazy crowded, we inadvertently hit the sweet spot after the regular semester but before summer session when Columbia is deserted.

Kitchenette's food appeals to that inexplicable Southern belle in me. (Also the lumberjack in me, I guess.) This plate made me SO happy when it arrived:

The pancakes were thick and fluffy and the turkey sausage was a nice departure from the usual breakfast meats. Two minor dings: Ben's French toast was too dense and cake-y for my taste, and the cheese grits that came with Rebecca's omelet were deemed too salty by her and too thick by me.

The bakery case is worth a look-see. While waiting for Ben and Rebecca to arrive, it took everything I had not to buy a whole pie to take home (knowing from experience that I would not have the room to eat any dessert). Dinner here is likewise excellent. I'm particularly fond of the turkey meatloaf, buttermilk-honey fried chicken and mac and cheese.

Broder's Pasta Bar

Occasion: Family dinner

Location: Broder's on Penn Ave South in Minneapolis (broders.com)

Edibles: clams in white wine; sausage pizza; caprese salad; pasta with salad greens, asparagus, chicken, mascarpone and balsamic; lobster fettucine; pappardelle with wild boar ragu; lemon ricotta cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert

Musings: I would totally eat at Broder's if it was in New York - and that's pretty much my highest compliment for out-of-town eats. The restaurant was bustling and close to full occupancy even at 5:30, and it's not hard to see why. The décor was clean and modern with some kitschy touches - I loved the metal collanders used as lampshades. The prices were more than reasonable and every dish was outstanding.

The pizza had a wonderful yeasty crust and I couldn't resist a second slice. My favorite of the pastas (all fresh and homemade) was the pappardelle, but an honorable mention goes to the chicken one. It had a lot of surprising ingredients that could have disastrous together but which, instead, melded together into a very unusual and refreshing dish. A great gastronomic mind conceived that dish.

Highly recommended!!

Mmmm... braised short rib with tagliatelle

Folks, I have not been this excited about a recipe in a long time. Beef on the bone, tomatoes, wine, bacon.... as Ina would say, how bad can that be?! I sincerely hope that you will either make this for yourself, or talk me into making it for you. Creative bribery encouraged.

Braised Short Rib with Tagliatelle

(based on Giada's recipe)

2 lbs of beef short rib

4 slices thick-cut bacon

1 very large onion, chopped

5 carrots, peeled and chopped

14oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 can beef broth

½ bottle of a nice red wine with some personality
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 packets of fresh tagliatelle (or other wide noodle)

The short rib is a one-pot deal. Advance warning that it will be stewing for about 4 hours - you will want a nice heavy pot. I, of course, used my trusty yellow Le Creuset (as pictured in the crappy bb photo above).

Chop up the bacon and throw it into the pot over medium heat to render (i.e. cook out the fat). When the bacon is crispy and browned, remove the bacon (and reserve) but leave the fat.

Sear the short ribs in the bacon fat. If you've never seen one, they tend to be almost square. You want to be patient with this step, and develop a good brown crust on at least four of the six sides. It will pay dividends later. Browning = flavor. You will probably need to do this in two batches. Remove all the browned short ribs to a plate.

Without cleaning the pot, throw in the chopped carrots and onion. (Some fat will render from the short ribs too, which should provide ample cooking oil.) Cook them until they start to brown, too.

Deglaze with red wine. Give the bottom of the pot a good scraping to liberate all the tasty brown bits. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves. Season cautiously with salt and pepper (watch the salt in particular - the beef broth may have a little or a lot, you will be reducing the liquid, and you will be adding the bacon back later). Return the short ribs to the pot; the meat should mostly be submerged in the braising liquid. Bring to a simmer and cover.

Cook covered for 1.5 hours. Check on it once in a while to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. At the end of that time, uncover and check seasoning (it should still be somewhat under-salted at this point).

Cook for *another* 1.5 hours, uncovered. The braising liquid will gradually reduce and thicken into a sauce - it's okay if the beef is no longer fully submerged. As before, stir once in a while. [During the long simmer, you might pass the time by watching a movie or two, and enjoying the half bottle of wine you conveniently have on hand. You can always open another one for dinner.]

Noodles: About 20 min before the beef is due to be done, put a big pot of water on to boil. I strongly recommend using a fresh pasta - the grocery store kind, usually found in a refrigerated case near the dairy and eggs, is fine. Get the widest noodle you can find - tagliatelle ideally but fettucine will do. Cook the pasta al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, remove the short ribs and shred the meat using two forks. The meat should fall off the bone and be very tender and easy to shred. Return the shredded meat to the pot with the sauce, and fold in. Sprinkle in the bacon. Check seasoning one last time.

With this dish, I like to mix the pasta and the sauce in the pot and serve it pre-mixed, as opposed to ladling the sauce over the plain noodles. Garnish with a little grated parmesan or chopped parsley if you have it. Alternatively, Giada grates on a little dark chocolate.

The full recipe - 2 lbs of short ribs and two packets of pasta - will make about six generous servings. You could theoretically halve it. But a full recipe is about the same amount of work, so why not make extra? The shredded short rib sauce refrigerates beautifully and will keep a little over a week - it can be two meals for three people, three meals for two people or even six meals for one person, provided you're not the kind of person who gets tired of eating one dish over and over.

(Important Note: If you're refrigerating the sauce, DON'T put in the bacon until you're reheating it to eat. If you leave the bacon soaking in the sauce, the salt will leach out and make your sauce too salty. I learned this one the hard way. Can be ameliorated with a touch of sugar, but better not to mess it up in the first place.)

Alternate serving suggestion: Instead of shredding the short rib, you can serve a whole one (or two) nestled in a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes, and spoon some sauce over it.

Enjoy!

Sha-lin Noodle House

Occasion: Post-figure-skating-practice and pre-women's hockey lunch
Location: Sha-lin Noodle House on W Broadway between Cambie and Ash
Edibles: stir-fried cutting noodles with tofu and vegetables; xa jiang dragging noodles; potstickers, half pork, half vegetarian (with a cabbage and carrot filling, like a cooked coleslaw); sautéed bok choi with garlic

Musings: Love this place!! Fresh noodles are among my favorite things to eat, and they do a really good variety of styles (and corresponding textures) at Sha-lin.

Cutting Noodles: The chef takes a block of refrigerated dough and uses a special triangular knife-tool thing to shave off noodles, shooting them straight into a pot of boiling water. Sort of like how you make spätzle, but with a much firmer, denser dough and much larger noodles. I really like the heft of these noodles, and they're excellent for stir-frying. The oily, fried noodles can be slippery little suckers - tricky to eat with chopsticks.

Dragging Noodles: The chef REALLY develops some gluten by repeatedly stretching the dough, and then twisting it back on itself. Sort of like how pulled taffy is made. The noodles themselves are made by doubling up one fat rope of dough, stretching it out (thus reducing the thickness by half), and repeating until the strands are about the thinness of spaghetti. The trick to this method - not that I've mastered it or anything - is getting a really good, elastic texture of dough, or the strands will break before they're thin enough. I like these noodles with a ground meat and bean sauce known as xa jiang. (Sha-lin does a nice sauce, but my mom's version with Chinese pickles and diced shiitake mushrooms is truly spectacular.)

Pushing Noodles (which we did not have): The chef rolls and folds up a sheet of dough, and cuts the noodles by hand. Similar to the soba method, but the chef cuts away from himself instead of slicing, hence the name.

The potstickers were a real hit with Karen and Josie. Sha-lin makes theirs with a yeasty, risen dough, and develops a nice crispy, golden brown crust on the bottoms. The quality of the fillings could be improved, but it's hard to complain when you're in the middle of chowing down on a piping hot plateful.

If memory serves, four dishes plus two beers apiece came out to under $25 a person. Good stuff!

[Note: This will be the only other Vancouver post. I also took Karen and Josie to old favorites Sun Sui Wah and Tapastree, and met up with Emily at Adonia to pass off some extra hockey tickets, but you can check out my old reviews using the links. Back to NYC for the next post.]

JoJo

Occasion: Brunch with Sylvia
Location: JoJo on 64th between 3rd and Lex (jean-georges.com)
Edibles: 3-course prix fixe - butternut squash soup with trumpet mushrooms and chives, salmon with truffled mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts, and molten chocolate cake for me; Sylvia had the same, except tuna tartare for her first course

Musings: The hidden gem of Jean-Georges' empire. (I find the food at Jean-Georges' eponymous restaurant, the one just off Columbus Circle, to be too gimicky and fussy.) JoJo has a nice cozy space, elegant food, very reasonable prices, and you can always get a reservation.

I usually get the crab for my first course, but this cold winter afternoon I just couldn't pass up the butternut squash soup. It was perfect - piping hot, velvety and rich (though I barely tasted any cream), with a bit of texture from the mushroom. For the second course, I find their chicken to be a bit olive-heavy; the salmon is my go-to. They source some nice fish so you can get it cooked rare.

I believe the pure bliss of an expertly crafted molten chocolate cake needs no further elaboration.

[Note: I had gone to Carnegie Hall with Amy the night before to see him, and was stunned when Yo-Yo Ma turned up at the restaurant and sat down at the table behind us. He was very nice and gracious when I stopped him on his way out, even though he was obviously in a hurry and loath to attract attention. Luckily, I still had the playbill in my purse - which he autographed!]

Tia Pol

Occasion: Girls' night with Abby, Elizabeth, Rachel W, Mamie, Bess and Jill
Location: Tia Pol on 10th between 22nd and 23rd (tiapol.com)
Edibles: suckling pig; wine-marinated Cornish game hen; patatas bravas; lamb skewers; ham croquettes; a cheese plate; chorizo with sherry; head-on shrimp; brandade (salt cod with mashed potatoes); white asparagus with caviar; tortilla española

Musings: The one tricky thing about Tia Pol is getting in. It's tiny, and they don't take reservations except for large parties (and even then only a week in advance). Luckily, we were a large party and trooped past the crush in the front to our nicely secluded booth in the back.

It's hard to play favorites with a menu as solid acros the board as this one but, if pressed, I'd say the lamb skewers. (Tip: If you get it, be sure to grab a chunk of the bread, soaked with all the delicious meat juices.) For PA, it's the patatas bravas - the best I've had in the city. I remember one dinner, upon arriving slightly late, PA was horrified to discover that we only had one measly order on the table. She immediately demanded that we get two more.

The head-on shrimp are delicious enough to frequently tempt our vegetarian, Karen, off the wagon. Her rationale: if they weren't meant to be eaten, they wouldn't be so delicious. (HA! That's what I think of pretty much all food.) [Postscript: Sadly, these are no longer on the menu. Try the garlic shrimp instead.]

Their specials are pricier, but also stunning. They didn't have it today, but one awesome dish that appears regularly is whole brook trout, stuffed with watercress and wrapped in prosciutto. Yum. There's also a wine-stewed date dessert that's a must-have whenever it's available. Today, our suckling pig and game hen were quickly reduced to a few smears of grease. Enough said.

Tia Pol is one my true loves in the city. I could find a man as consistently wonderful as this place, I'd marry him in a red hot minute.

Babbo

Occasion: Pasta-palooza with Kathy, Yining, Ben and Rebecca
Location: Babbo on Waverly at MacDougal (babbonyc.com)
Edibles: described in detail below

Musings: Babbo does a good selection of proteins, but I think their "secondi" menu pales in comparison to their superlative handmade pastas. For my money, it's got to be the pasta tasting.

I always think of Babbo as a "fancy fancy" restaurant in the ranks of Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin and Daniel, but it's really not as expensive as that. The pasta tasting is an eminently reasonable $69 for five courses of pasta, plus an amuse bouche, enough desserts to make you groan, and a plate of exquisite little petit fours after that, in case you're still conscious.

My one quibble with the format is that it's so inflexible. Why does the tasting have to be for the whole table, period, full stop? Rebecca keeps a pretty laid-back version of kosher - basically, no shellfish, no pork. I would have thought they'd be able to work around that with a minimum of fuss. Not so.

I thought I was being pretty reasonable - I understood their rules, and simply asked that they do their best in terms of substitutions and whatnot. But no, they had to beat it to death that the chef cooks what he cooks and the tasting has to be for the whole table, no exceptions. I had pretty much the same pointless conversation with the reservationist, the maître d', our waiter and the restaurant manager about how to address Rebecca's restrictions - the latter three instigated by them, in quick succession.

We managed pretty well, with Rebecca having to skip only the first pasta, but why did it have to be so laborious? I think it makes more sense to make it for a minimum of two or three, and then anyone not up for an entire tasting marathon (like Kathy's husband, who surrendered before a shot was fired) or with special dietary needs can order à la carte.

But whatever. As long as their reservation book is full to bursting, I guess we diners just have to lump it.

On to the glorious food.

Amuse bouche: Bruschetta with marinated garbanzo beans. This is where a rookie makes the first mistake. You can't dick around with this menu or it will own your ass. If you want to make it through dessert, you can't eat the amuse, and you definitely can't eat the bread. (My additional preparations included just having a cup of tea for breakfast, chewing a stick of gum in lieu of lunch, and wearing a roomy jersey dress to accomodate the inevitable expansion.)

First course: Squid-ink tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta. A double-whammy of pork and shellfish, so Rebecca had to pass. It was delicious enough that I threw caution to the wind and had a few forkfuls off her plate.

Second course: Beet ravioli with poppy seeds. Light and yummy. The pasta is thin and silky and delicate. When cut open, the ravioli filling is a cheerful but slightly disconcerting vivid fuchsia.

Third course: Garganelli with mushrooms. The yummy continues...

Fourth course: Goose liver ravioli with balsamic reduction. (We subbed out the pappardelle bolognese, which has ground pork in the sauce.) This dish is, in my opinion, the absolute pinnacle of Babbo's pastas. You'd think the strong flavors would clash but they're perfection together. The syrupy balsamic brings out the sweetness in the goose liver, while at the same time cutting through the richness. It's inspired. The acid also reacts with the pasta to bring it back to al dente - a chewier texture than what the same dough produces in the second course.

Swoon! In my happy place, I'm eating this pasta.

Fifth course: Pyramids stuffed with shredded beef (cheek, I think). I was losing steam fast, but still had enough appetite to savor the robust and incredibly tender shreds of beef in the filling. Sigh.

Dessert: It started out with a round of spicy chocolate ganache "al diavolo" and a sliver of castagnaccio, a chestnut tart. Then, instead of bringing everyone the carrot poppyseed cake on the printed menu, they brought one slice of that cake, and four OTHER desserts. They were: chestnut cake; an ice-cream, chocolate and pistachio concoction we dubbed "The Penguin"; mascarpone cheesecake; and a cranberry tartlet. We were, of course, obliged to taste all of them in rotation.

The petit fours were the final blow. I could only manage one mini biscotti, but had them pack up the rest.

What can I say? That meal was pure joy. Kudos to my fellow diners for crossing the finish line!

St. Germain Bakery

Location: Oakridge Shopping Centre in Vancouver, among others

Best loaf of bread in the city.

I remember when there was only one out-of-the-way location (on Cambie, I think) and we would go especially for the bread. The three of us kids would eat half the thing in the car, ripping chunks off the fragrant, freshly-baked, sometimes still hot loaf. My mom would grumble about crumbs, but then even she would succumb and ask for a corner.

You now have to special-order a full loaf of their unsliced white bread, a weighty, ponderous column almost the length of your arm. (You can get smaller portions of pre-sliced bread any time.) It has a silky-fine crumb and is chewy and substantial in the mouth, yet somehow avoids being dense. When sliced thickly, toasted and slathered with butter, it's a superb breakfast. Or afternoon snack. Or a bite for whenever you happen to wander through the kitchen.

(They also do good repertoire of Chinese cakes and pastries.)

Tapastree [closed]

Occasion: Dinner with high school buds Tania, Warren, Bib and Alfred
Location: Tapastree on Robson off Denman (tapastree.ca)
Edibles: buttermilk fried chicken with aioli; flatiron steak with gorgonzola sauce; chicken livers with tomatoes, brandy and black pepper; duck confit with cranberry compote; lamb chops; tomato bocconcini avocado salad; grilled asparagus; ahi tuna with ponzu and Chinese mustard; wild mushrooms with goat cheese on toast; sticky toffee pudding; crème brûlée

Musings: I've been coming here for ages. Ages. So long, in fact, that most of my Vancouver friends refer to it as "my" tapas place. (It was originally Sylvia's, and her ex Ollie's before her, but I've been the most devoted over the years.) Sadly, many of the dishes I loved best are no longer on the menu - I'm still mourning the loss of those amazing fried oysters - but the new offerings are wonderful too.

I think we ordered all of their meat dishes. My favorite was probably the fried chicken, with the steak and lamb running a close race for second.

The veggie dishes aren't slouches, though. The wild mushroom dish is a perennial favorite, and though I was outvoted on the Japanese eggplant this particular dinner, I usually get that as well. The asparagus we did order was decent, but I thought it was a tad overpriced at $9.

A shocking revelation did take place at the end of the meal, when the waitress came to take our dessert orders. It happened almost by accident. In the course of ordering our fancy coffees, we were (or at least I was) aghast to discover that the kitchen does not stock full fat milk!! Just 2%!!

Horrors.

Okay. First, how can you claim to offer a decent after-dinner coffee without full fat milk? Second - and more chilling - how do you make your crème brûlée?!?! (Which, despite its name, contains no cream. The custard is made with milk.) I understand not getting it through your bulk supplier but there's a Safeway just across the street - why not keep a few litres in the walk-in?

I calmed down a little after a generous dose of sticky toffee pudding. A little.

Dairy scandal aside, our varied and delicious meal, bottle of white, dessert, tip and tax came out to $45 a person. Karen and Josie, I'm looking forward to taking you guys here in February! I may bring my own milk.

Lupa

Occasion: Black Friday lunch with my mom and sister
Location: Lupa on Thompson between Houston and Bleecker(luparestaurant.com)
Edibles: antipasti to start - broccoli rabe with ricotta; beets with pistachio sauce; roasted butternut squash with red onion; octopus with garbanzo beans; I had the spaghetti carbonara; my sister had the gnocchi with tomato sauce; my mom had the tonarelli with pork shoulder ragu

Musings: After three chilly hours of shopping in Soho, we stopped off at Lupa for some much-needed carbs. Luckily, we beat the lunch rush and were seated immediately. (Lupa can be tricky to get into. They take reservations, but for such a small percentage of the restaurant that you need to call more than a week in advance. If you're taking your chances without a reservation, go early. Being willing to eat at the bar also helps.)

It's been my experience that the vegetables are always amazing at Batali restaurants. I don't know what the story is behind it, but if you're at Otto, Casa Mono or Lupa, be sure to get some. Today was no exception. I loved the pistachio sauce on the beets in particular.

The octopus was the most expensive starter at $10 for a little cup, and it was a letdown. The octopus had a very strange texture, sort of spongy and mealy. It actually felt a little gross to chew and swallow it.

We did two rotations of the pastas so that everyone could taste everything. I was in raptures over the carbonara: the perfect amount of sauce, the perfect amount of salt, lots of pancetta bits and cracked black pepper. YUM. The tonarelli was also excellent, a hearty winter dish with tender shreds of pork and fresh pasta. The gnocchi were pillowy and satisfying but paled in comparison to the other two dishes, which were simply outstanding.

I just love Lupa. I had my birthday dinner here last year and, while the group dining menu is not cheap, the courses was very generous and everyone had a great time. For its relaxed atmosphere, excellent veggies and knock-your-socks-off fresh pastas, Lupa easily makes the NYC Hall of Fame.

Casa Felix

Occasion: A much-anticipated dinner
Location: Casa Felix - literally, Chef Diego Felix's house in the Chacarita neighborhood of Buenos Aires (diegofelix.com)
Edibles: mango pisco sour apéritif; first course - sautéed oyster mushrooms over lime mashed potatoes with argula flowers, suico sauce and chili-infused oil; second course - papaya and cucumber salad with a mandarin vinaigrette; intermezzo - apple and mint granita; main course - achiote-marinated sandperch with pea and fennel purée, broccolini and salsa criolla; dessert - coconut and lavender panna cotta

(Note: At some point, I will get around to uploading my pictures from the dinner. Until then, you can find pictures of Diego's gorgeous food - though not the exact stuff that we ate - here.)

Musings: Amazing. Amazing. Thanks go out to Sabrina for the rec!

The evening started with drinks in Diego's backyard. He showed us his herb garden, still in progress, and talked a little about his background and food philosophy. He spoke animatedly of his love for obscure local ingredients and his fascination with the indigenous cuisines of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. As it turned out, he'd just returned from an impromptu North American tour, where he cooked for private parties and supper clubs.

All the guests briefly introduced themselves. Everyone there had heard about place by word of mouth and Diego speculated that every guest could be traced back to one of his friends, the original guests of his home, now restaurant.

Eager to start tasting his creations, we all headed inside to our little tables in their living room. (When the weather is warmer, everyone sits together at the big table in their courtyard.) From the first course of his pescetarian tasting menu on, Diego surprised and challenged us with his dishes.

For example, I never thought cold mashed potatoes with lime would be good, but they were an amazing base for the oyster mushrooms in the first course. The edible flowers from his garden were a charming touch. I wasn't crazy about the slightly slimy manioc pancake in the second course but the salad was lovely, the citrus in the dressing picking up the lime note from the previous course. I think there was an accident with the intermezzo in the hall (all we heard was a loud crash with shattering glass), but they were still able to serve each of us a tiny scoop of the refreshing granita.

The sandperch main course was lovely, substantial and satisfying but still delicate enough to stay in line with the rest of the light menu. We finished the meal with vegan coconut panna cotta with lavender. Coconut makes me gag so I couldn't really evaluate this one objectively, but it was silky-smooth and I loved the crust. The lavender was perhaps a touch overpowering.

The bill was a ridiculously low 110 pesos (about $30). In my opinion, he could easily charge twice, if not three times, as much. Wine is extra, but as Argentina is a robust wine-producing country, the local selections were great and very reasonably priced.

I simply cannot recommend this place strongly enough. Diego's passion for fresh and modern food was evident in everything that came out of his kitchen. A truly spectacular dining experience.

Good Enough to Eat

Occasion: Brunch with Yining (after successfully getting Tosca tickets but unsuccessfully trying to run several other errands)

Location: Good Enough to Eat on Amsterdam between 83rd and 84th (goodenoughtoeat.com)

Edibles: the Deep South (scrambled eggs with biscuits, topped with sausage gravy) for me; BLT omelet (bacon, tomato and Gruyère - no lettuce) for Yining

Musings: I have no personal connection whatsoever to the South but I sure do love their food - deep-fried, generously buttered, blanketed in gravy, festooned with bacon.... and sometimes all of the above!

Whenever I find myself on the UWS for cat-sitting or whatnot, I try to work in a stop at Good Enough to Eat. There's usually a long line outside. (Of locals, might I add. Never trust a line of tourists.) If you're willing to sit at the bar, the wait will be greatly truncated - Yining and I were seated within 10 minutes.

My CLS girls picked this place for PA's final NYC meal. That should give you some idea of how highly we regard it. On occasions like that, I usually stick my fork into everyone's plate whether they like it or not. So I've sampled a lot of their brunch offerings, even though I always order the Deep South for myself. I mean, sausage gravy!! Need I say more?

Besides the sausage gravy that haunts my dreams, the biscuits are great, the pancakes are great and they have bacon waffles on the menu. Gotta love it!

Omai

Occasion: Dinner with my girls - PA (in town from Kampala!), Abby, Elizabeth, and even Catherine escaped the Death Star in time for dessert

Location: Omai on 9th Ave between 19th and 20th (omainyc.com)

Edibles: crispy spring rolls; seared monkfish app; grilled rib app; coconut curry shrimp; red snapper in chili lime sauce; satay beef with string beans and yam; sticky rice; banana bread with vanilla ice-cream for dessert

Musings: Omai is one of those restaurants where you just can't go wrong; everything on the menu is completely scrumptious. If you have the chance to go with a slightly larger party (6-8 people), they can do a chef's tasting for something like $35 per person that includes almost everything on the menu. You'll see what I mean.

The monkfish in particular is not to be missed. I'm also addicted to their sticky rice. (On the rare occasions that they run out, I'm devastated.)

The restaurant is tiny, candle-lit and charming. Try to talk the waitress into seating you in one of the cozy window booths - it's the perfect place to catch up with old friends, over superlative food.

Shake Shack

Occasion: Combined review - brunch with Catherine the Sunday before last (8/2) and frozen custard with Sylvia last Saturday (8/8)
Location: Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, at Madison and 23rd (shakeshack.com)
Edibles: double cheeseburger with Catherine; bellini-flavored frozen custard with Sylvia

Musings: Shake Shack (and I mean the original location, not that newfangled UWS one) is a true NYC institution. Yes, the burgers are amazing. But the real experience is waiting in the long-ass line in the shade of the park's trees, catching up with a friend, enjoying the urban outdoors.

Or so you hope. It started to pour just as Catherine and I got to the park that Sunday. The silver lining was that the line was only 5-people long. Unheard of! We got our burgers to go and dashed across the street to the Subway, where we got some sodas for the privilege of using their tables - and their roof! Despite the rain, it was still good.

(If the line is your dealbreaker, you may be interested to know that they have a webcam on the website that shows you the line in real time. As it instructs, plan accordingly.)

I don't get the frozen custard often. Not because it's not good, but because I'm usually torpid from all the fries, cheese and beef. So it's nice once in a while to go for the express purpose of the frozen custard. I had the pineapple-passionfruit years ago and I still remember it fondly. Saturday's bellini was also lovely.

The moral of the story: GO!

Yakitori Totto

Occasion: Dinner with globe-trotter Kent, who finally made it back into the city
Location: Yakitori Totto on 55th between B'way and 8th

Edibles: tori dango steamed chicken meatballs with a layer of rice pressed into the surface; zaru tofu, served in a basket with condiments (ginger, toasted sesame seeds, chives, bonito, flavored salt); skewers galore - seseri chicken neck; hatsu chicken heart; shishitou tsukune tsume chicken stuffed in Japanese peppers; aspara maki chicken breast wrapped around asparagus; negima chicken thigh with scallion; tsukune umejiso chicken meatball with shiso; kuro buta negi pon pork with ponzu and scallion; harami skirt steak with onion; shiitake mushrooms with ponzu and bonito; yaki nasu miso dengaku eggplant with miso; deep-fried tofu with miso...
... still not done: three rounds of shochu with fresh-squeezed citrus (one each of grapefruit, orange and lemon) and vanilla and green tea mochi ice-cream for dessert
Musings: After all the food listed above, you'd think we left stuffed to the gills. I guess I can only speak for myself, but I was just moderately full. We shared the majority of the skewers, which equals about a bite and a half each person. This dinner also happened over the course of three hours. Which we needed, to catch up on all the happenings in each other's lives! It's been a busy year.

Yakitori Totto, like all of my very favorite restaurants, is rock solid when it comes to consistency. The ingredients are high-quality and many of the components to their dishes are made from scratch, including their outstanding miso and their tofu. The meatballs are mixed, then shaped by hand. The skewers are cooked over a small trench of charcoal and timed to split-second precision. I've introduced more than twenty friends here over the years and only one failed to be blown away. Easily makes my NYC Hall of Fame.

Travis, you shoulda been there!