Pulino’s – Bowery & Houston Sts

Pulino’s
$$
***
212.226.1966
282 Bowery
http://www.pulinosny.com/

There’s a Domino’s franchise in Ohio that is trying to break into a part of the fast-food world previously dominated by Egg McMuffins and Dunkin’ Donuts. That’s right, Domino’s is introducing a new breakfast item – breakfast pizza.

I think most people hear breakfast pizza and have a knee-jerk reaction of “ew”, and maybe that’s fair if you’re trusting Domino’s to deliver it to you – and especially if you expect it to show up looking like this:

But here in New York, we have Pulino’s!

Their breakfast pizzas are a thin, chewy crust that bubbles up around sweet or savory toppings, getting just the right amount of char on the pillowy outer crust. Try the Funghi, with mushrooms, pancetta, mascarpone, and grana, or the Salsiccia, with sausage, bacon, mozzarella, and white cheddar – both have whole eggs baked on top of the pizza, those just-slightly runny yolks making these cheese-laden pies taste even richer.

The Funghi

Or if you’re in the mood for something a little bit sweeter, try the Frutta with roasted pears, apples, cinnamon, and pecorino. Or there’s the Nutella, covered in (what else!) sweet, hazelnutty Nutella. But you really can’t miss with any of the choices here, so gather up some friends and order lots of different ones! All pies come as a small or a large, although a small is plenty for one.

If that Domino’s in Ohio helps get people to like breakfast pizzas, then I say job well done – and thanks, but no thanks. We’ve got plenty of great breakfast pizza right here in New York.

Soup Burg - 77th St & Lexington Ave

Soup Burg
$$
**
1095 Lexington Ave
212.744.1233

For years, my dad’s been telling me that the best burger in New York is at Soup Burg on Lexington Ave. Like most things your parents repeat over the years, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other, but every once in a while something sticks. And so when I got hungry after spending a lazy Saturday wandering around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I remembered that Soup Burg was just around the corner.

Now I can’t say it’s the absolute best in New York, but the cheeseburger here is pretty great. It’s a thick, juicy patty prepared with minimal seasonings so all you taste is that great beefy flavor, and the whole thing is topped with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, and a slice of cheese (American, cheddar, or Swiss). It’s cooked perfectly medium-rare with a nicely charred exterior, so the burger’s juices get locked inside and the bottom bun doesn’t get soggy.

Served with a side of hot, crispy fries and a pickle, the only thing you’ll want to add to this burger is a little bit of ketchup.

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar - 6th St & 2nd Ave

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar
$$$
****
101 2nd Ave
212.979.1012

Mermaid Inn casts a pretty big shadow over its stretch of 2nd Ave in the East Village, but be careful not to overlook its competition. Nestled in between an old-fashioned drugstore and a long empty space-to-rent is an unassuming, albeit charming, sliver of a seafood restaurant that is much more deserving of your attention.

Make sure you don’t pass by this hidden pearl of an oyster bar!

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar (given the unfortunate moniker “JLOB”) has enough tables to seat 24, but try to get a seat at the eight-person raw bar, if you can. It’s a fun experience, watching the chefs prepare food for the evening, and when you spot something particularly delicious, it might help winnow down the menu’s fantastic choices for you.

The menu offers an assortment of small plates, divided into five categories: Raw Bar, From the Garden, From the Ocean, From the Field & Air, and Dessert. Six dishes should make a pleasantly filling meal for two, and it’s worthwhile to sample from each menu category.

Start with Six Oysters Two Ways, a selection of East and West coast oysters, before waltzing through the rest of the menu. JLOB’s salads don’t disappoint, but for a true delight, try the Kabocha Squash soup. Its wintry description belies a light and surprising soup, where a hearty, cheddar cheese foam rests atop a savory soup, lightly sweetened by the presence of crisp, chopped apples and little studs of maple candy. The selections “from the Field & Air” are good, like a roasted suckling pig on one occasion, but the true standouts at JLOB are as they should be - from the Ocean.

The clams and chorizo are served in a cast iron skillet with a roasted tomato-garlic broth that will leave you asking for more bread - and wishing you’d ordered a second round! A butter-poached lobster is fantastically tender and as delicious as it sounds, and the artic char confit is wonderful, marrying tart, Greek yoghurt with spicy shishito peppers and root vegetable “crisps”. It is through no coincidence that the chef’s tasting menu spends most of its time in this section.

The desserts are simple with playful flavor combinations, as with a ricotta beignet served with basil and lavender-soaked strawberries. The cheese plate offers a fine selection of hard and soft cheeses, but its accompaniments (spicy nectarine jam, pine nut butter, and actual honeycomb) make it a necessary part of the meal - buck tradition and ask for this to follow your oysters.

If you’re looking for a wonderful seafood dinner in the East Village, try not to be distracted by the reputation across the street - settle in for an evening at JLOB and enjoy yourself!

Kyochon - 32nd St & 5th Ave

Kyochon
$
*
319 5th Ave
212.725.9292
http://kyochon.com/2009usa/index.asp

New York’s dining scene has been buzzing lately about famed Korean fried chicken joint Kyochon, and its recent descent on Midtown Manhattan. This fast-food fried chicken restaurant has just opened a new outpost on the corner of 5th Ave and 32nd St. Sadly, the reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

Kyochon’s futuristic, space-age design is interesting enough, full of starkly contrasting reds and whites, shiny chrome and clear plastic. But the walls of televisions upstairs are a huge distraction, and the über-modern aesthetic also applies to employee uniforms, inviting a comparison to flight attendants from a poorly costumed Tarantino movie.

Korean fried chicken is a completely different style from the Southern fried chicken of Popeye’s and KFC - and to give Kyochon their due, they deliver on the distinction. At Kyochon, the chicken (drumsticks or wings only) is fried twice for extra crispness and brushed with either a soy-garlic or hot & sweet sauce. But the glaze is a bit thick, and the hot & sweet sauce is not spicy enough to merit the cashier’s warning. The chicken itself is fairly decent, but ultimately disappointing given the high expectations Kyochon’s set up for itself.

Kyochon is located on a section of 5th Avenue just on the perimeter of Koreatown, an area full of mandoo, bibimbap, gogi gui (Korean barbecue), and – you guessed it – Korean fried chicken. In fact, Kyochon’s main competitor, Bon Chon Chicken, is about to become their neighbor, moving in just half a block away within the next couple of months. And Bon Chon makes the same chicken - only much, much better.

With so much competition nearby, Kyochon needs to start offering more than just hype.

Roberta’s and Sixpoint Craft Ales: a night of highs and unbelievable lows

Roberta’s
$$
**
261 Moore St., Brooklyn
718.417.1118
http://www.robertaspizza.com/

Last week, Sixpoint Craft Ales celebrated their fifth anniversary with a week-long series of events throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, one of which was a Fifth Anniversary Celebration at Roberta’s in Brooklyn. When word reached Little Scarlet of an all-you-can-eat three hour event with “unlimited beers and unlimited pizza and organic salad plus assorted dessert offerings baked with Sixpoint beer”, for only $32 - it was a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, this event truly failed to live up to its promise and became a complete disaster.

I met up with some friends from my dinner club a few minutes before the event was scheduled to begin, since tickets were expected to sell out and attendees were advised to arrive early - “so you are not disappointed”, they said. The atmosphere upon arrival was great - long tables of dark, rustic wood lined Roberta’s industrial interior and the staff were weaving in and out of guests, serving pizzas and salads family-style. Growlers of Sixpoint beer were brought to the tables just like the pizza, and the outside bar on the backyard deck was charming, with a bonfire nearby and a light flurry of snow just starting to come down.

So far, so good, right? That’s what we thought. Just wait.

The pizza was good - great, even. Roberta’s pizza belongs to the school of thick, doughy crust, slightly charred in places from their wood-fired oven and with a generous one-inch rim of crust on each 12-inch pie. Their Margherita pizza is satisfyingly saucy, cheesy, and chewy, with the great flavor that only fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil can deliver.

Margherita pizza

Roberta’s topping combinations are creative yet impressively simple, as in their “Madd Martigan” pizza, with mozzarella, mushrooms, pesto, and artichoke, and a special pie for the Fifth Anniversary Celebration, consisting of mozzarella, crispy prosciutto cotto, red onions, and mushrooms.

Madd Martigan pizza

Sixpoint Craft Ales Fifth Anniversary Celebration “special” pizza

Their bibb lettuce salad, full of toasted walnuts and gorgonzola, is brightened by a splash of sweet-tart dried cherry vinaigrette, and Sixpoint’s beers are on point, as always - full of great flavor and exactly what you wanted to go with Roberta’s straight-from-the-oven pizzas.

Again - so far, so good, right? This sounds awesome, what could possibly have gone wrong? Get ready, because here it comes.

Apparently, it turns out that “3 hours of unlimited beers and unlimited pizza” was more of an advertising gimmick than an actual guarantee. After enjoying some pizza and beer for a little over 1 hour, we were asked to leave to make way for people who had shown up late and were waiting to sit down. We were surprised to hear that the event had been oversold and that we were “hogging” the table - being savvy New Yorkers, we had shown up early and expected to get what we paid for. But while being asked to leave early didn’t seem right, we were sympathetic to the latecomers’ plight, so we asked for one more pizza and promised to leave right after. One of our friends had been outside refilling our growler of beer during this exchange and upon his return, our harried waiter had “had enough.”

Before we knew what was happening, this waiter-on-a-power-trip took away what was left of the pizza, our full glasses of beer, and told us to “Get the fuck out.” Stunned and confused, we stammered that we had been peaceably enjoying the evening and weren’t sure why we were being forcibly thrown out. Our waiter revealed that he was, in fact, the owner and threw our money ($160 in cash!) at us, telling us to never, ever come back.

Well, Roberta’s, point well taken. The food is good, good enough that I could have been convinced to make the long trek out to Bushwick a second time. But if that’s how the owners want to run their business, there’s more than enough great pizza in New York to keep me from returning.

Bottom line? If Bushwick’s not too far away and you want good pizza, go ahead - give Roberta’s a try. But if they throw any events in the future, I’d be sure to stay far away.

Unless, of course, you’re looking for a good story to tell.

BaoHaus - Rivington & Norfolk Sts

BaoHaus
$
**
137 Rivington St
646.684.3835
http://www.baohausnyc.com/

You’re roaming around the Lower East Side, you’re hungry, it’s late, and the last thing you want is another bad piece of pizza. Lucky for you, the gua bao at BaoHaus (open Fridays & Saturdays until 2 am) is just what you need!

Eddie Huang’s gua bao are steamed Taiwanese buns filled with skirt steak, pork belly, or pan-fried tofu, along with crushed peanuts, cilantro, pickled mustard greens, Taiwanese red sugar, and BaoHaus’s special Haus Relish.

The owner, Eddie (first name basis, please!), is working behind the counter and chatting up the customers as they come in, offering advice on which bao to try and whether you want fatty or lean meat. Definitely make sure you strike up a conversation with Eddie - he has great restaurant tips to pass along and loves talking about food.

Eddie lets *Little Scarlet* take a peek around the kitchen

Eddie’s Chinese heritage and Southern upbringing are both on display here from boiled peanuts (a staple snack of the South) to the pickled mustard greens that top all of BaoHaus’s bao to the cherry cola used to braise the Chairman Bao’s pork belly. Baos are priced two to an order, but a “Straight Frush” (any three baos, an order of bao fries, and a cup of boiled peanuts) is the way to go if you want to try everything - and you definitely should!

The bao fries are like Asian French toast sticks - slices of sweet, bao dough are lightly fried and drizzled with an addictive sesame sauce.

Bao fries and sweet, sesame sauce

Eddie’s Haus Bao is the same recipe he debuted on Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown (episode airing March 21, 2010). Angus skirt steak is red-cooked until it’s so tender it almost melts in your mouth, and is given a spicy-sweet flavor from reduced moutai (Chinese firewater). This Asian barbecue-flavored beef is then served on a folded, steamed bun.

Haus bao

The Chairman Bao is stuffed with Niman Ranch pork belly that has been braised low-and-slow, melting the ribbon of fat that tops each slice. All this is complemented nicely by that same refreshing combination of crushed peanut, pickled mustard greens, and cilantro.

Eddie gives a nod to his Southern roots by using cherry cola to tenderize Chairman Bao’s pork belly

Tofu has to be something pretty spectacular to capture the interest of Little Scarlet, and the pan-fried squares of the Uncle Jesse fit the bill. Coated in sweet potato starch before being fried, the tofu is firm and silken, and really holds the flavor of the Haus sauce well.

The Uncle Jesse is not named for the “Full House” character, but rather for Eddie’s vegetarian friend, musician Jesse Hofrichter.

If you’ve never had boiled peanuts before, they are not to be passed up. Boiled peanuts are soft and meaty, unlike the hard, crunchy, dry-roasted variety that fills serving dishes all over New York’s bars. This favorite Southern snack gets an Asian twist from being boiled in rice vinegar.

Don’t be surprised - these boiled peanuts are hot and delicious!

Whether you live on the Lower East Side or it’s your favorite late-night haunt, Eddie Huang and his bao are about to become your new best friends – so be sure to visit often!

Katz’s Delicatessen - Houston & Ludlow Sts

Katz’s Delicatessen
$$
****
205 E Houston St
212.254.2246
http://www.katzdeli.com

New Yorkers know it as one of the best Jewish delis in Manhattan - and, therefore, the world. Tourists know it as the scene of Meg Ryan’s famous “fake orgasm” scene in 1989’s romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally. It doesn’t matter how you know Katz’s Deli, though, so long as you show up hungry!

Katz’s deli boasts that it is “famous for the best sandwich in town”, and while the sandwiches at Carnegie Deli and Second Ave Deli make this a tough judgment call, Katz’s towers above its other competitors. Its pastrami sandwich is so good you wish you could live off of it – layers of cured, smoked brisket rest between two slices of Jewish rye, and are topped off with a big squeeze of deli mustard. The corned beef doesn’t pull apart as easily as the pastrami, but both meats are fatty, tender, and crying out for a house-made pickle!

 

Pastrami sandwich on rye (top), with pickle (bottom). On “Seinfeld”, one of George’s girlfriends famously said, “I find pastrami to be the most sensual of all the cured salted meats.” After eating at Katz’s, *Little Scarlet* has to agree!

“I’ll have what she’s having.”
From front-left to right: Sauerkraut, half- and full-sour pickles, pastrami sandwich, corned beef sandwich. Any sandwich should be washed down with one of Katz’s several different beers on tap, ranging from Budweiser, to Brooklyn Lager and Magic Hat #9, to Katz’s own Katz’s Ale.

Any sandwich is made better by a serving of half- and full-sour pickles, as well as a side order of sauerkraut. The sauerkraut is strong, but it’s fresh and crisp, and is perfect to cut through the richness of Katz’s meats.

Katz’s serves only one type of knish - potato. These square pockets have a chewy, fried crust, instead of the light, flaky crust of Yonah Schimmel’s knishes down the street, and, at about one-third the size, are nowhere near as dense. A knish from Katz’s goes great with an egg cream, which, if you’ve never had one before, is worth trying here. Made entirely without eggs or cream, a classic egg cream calls for a combination of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer water, and tastes like a thin, bubbly milkshake.

The best strategy for a place like Katz’s is to come in a group - how else can you expect to try the pastrami, corned beef, and brisket sandwiches, plus finish off a knish, an egg cream, fries, and a big glass of beer?!

And yes, you really do need to try it all. Grab a self-serve table and make sure you linger for a while after you’ve finished eating - trust me, you’ll be thanking Little Scarlet later!

Celsius - Bryant Park

Celsius
$$
***
212.661.6640
Bryant Park – 5th Ave & 42nd St
http://www.thepondatbryantpark.com/celsius/info

Open annually, Nov. 6, 2009 - Jan. 24, 2010
Sunday-Wednesday: Noon - 10pm
Thursday-Saturday: Noon - Midnight


One of the great things about living in a city like New York is the seasonal restaurants that pop up throughout the year. The Bon Appétit Supper Club and Café is perhaps the most popular of these, but it’s only open one week a year (weekdays only!) and is open to the public only for lunch. But not to worry, Bryant Park has the place you’re looking for!

Once the temperature dips low enough, Bryant Park erects an outdoor skating rink, called “The Pond at Bryant Park”. The Pond is Manhattan’s only free ice skating rink (although skate rentals are $12) and is available to the public from early November through late January. With Harry Connick, Jr. and Perry Cuomo crooning softly through The Pond’s speakers, an afternoon of skating at The Pond makes for a great date – especially if followed by food and drinks at Celsius!

Located on the north-east corner of Bryant Park, Celsius is a glass-enclosed restaurant/lounge overlooking The Pond and Bryant Park’s decorated “Holiday Tree”. Celsius has a well-stocked bar on the first floor and additional table service seating upstairs, but the best seats in the house are on its outdoor terrace. These long, comfy couches and cozy tables for two are perfect for an après-skate bite, and are flanked by enough heat lamps to keep out the winter chill.

Click through the slideshow to see pictures of Celsius!

Celsius’ menu is full of cold-weather favorites with a casual touch of elegance. Mac-and-cheese becomes “mac and cheese gratin”, full of gruyere, gouda, and Vermont cheddar, while potato-and-cheese pierogies are spruced up with sides of caramelized onions and pomegranate-apple compote. An order of steak frites pairs a well-marinated skirt steak with piping hot, salty french fries, which are covered in a light dusting of Cajun seasoning, and served with ketchup and a barbecue-like spicy dipping sauce (which is great on the steak). The home-style chicken pot pie is prepared and served in its own cast-iron skillet, where a savory, buttery crust tops a sea of surprisingly large, tender hunks of chicken, punctuated by the occasional whole, baby Portobello mushroom and other stray vegetables.

Skirt steak makes a double-appearance on the menu at Celsius, first as steak frites and then as a skirt steak sandwich served with horseradish mayo and grain mustard slaw.

Chicken pot pie is slow-baked and served in an individual cast-iron skillet. Occasional bites of peas, celery, carrots, and whole, baby Portobello mushrooms interrupt an otherwise creamy landscape of tender chicken.

There is something at Celsius to please everyone, from their Asian-inspired vegetable spring rolls and butternut squash-coconut bisque, to a seasonal beet and goat cheese salad, to side orders of tater tots and buffalo wings. Their desserts are safe but well done, and their cocktail menu is inventive with drinks like “Earl-y Chili” (gin, earl grey tea, lemon juice, egg white, and peach bitters) and “Red Sage” (absolut, cherry liqueur, muddled sage, and Coca-Cola).

Celsius has a decent selection of hot drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcholic - perfect for warming your hands after time on the ice!

This perennial pop-up will be back in the fall, but don’t wait. Celsius is only around for a few more days, closing up for the season next Sunday, January 24. Make sure you go soon - and bring a friend!

Porchetta – 7th St & Avenue A

Porchetta
$
***
212.777.2151
110 East 7th St.
http://www.porchettanyc.com/

Barbecue may finally be losing its hold over New York’s dining scene, but the city’s demand for pork is as fervent as ever. This porcine love affair is perhaps nowhere more evident than at Porchetta, Sara Jenkins’ small, East Village take-out joint. Here, the humble pig dominates the menu, and the result is a blissfully indulgent treat for the eyes, nose, and stomach.

Porchetta, a Roman staple often referred to as slow-cooked Italian “fast food” (and here, the restaurant’s namesake), is highly flavorful, well-seasoned roasted pork with a crisp, chewy skin. Jenkins shows her brilliance by wrapping pork loins in pork bellies, and then vigorously seasoning them with a mixture of wild fennel pollen, thyme, rosemary, garlic, sage, salt, and pepper. After hours spent roasting in the oven, the smells of roast pork spill out into the street, luring you in to devour meat that is melt-in-your-mouth tender with a honey-colored crackling of skin - perfect for delighting the tongue and breaking the teeth.

Porchetta owes its strength and devoted following to the simplicity of its eight-item menu: porchetta, a soup of the day, an assortment of sides, and a mozzarella-and-tomato sandwich (I guess vegetarians have to eat too, right?). Don’t forget to notice the “daily special” side dish taped to the register - it’s worth catching for its fresh, seasonal ingredients, which on a recent visit included a wonderful spinach salad with beets and goat cheese.

As long as Porchetta keeps making their sandwiches (shown above), cardiologists will always be in demand!

The porchetta is served either on a plate with sides of beans and wilted, garlicky greens or on a Sullivan Street Bakery ciabatta roll, with bits of cracklings sprinkled in amongst unbelievably succulent pieces of pork. This porchetta sandwich is so juicy that the pork’s drippings soak right through the sandwich’s double-layered wrapping of tin foil and brown paper!

Crispy potatoes and burnt ends – try to order these earlier in the day if possible, before the burnt ends have a chance to dry out.

Porchetta’s crispy potatoes and burnt ends is the perfect accompaniment to their porchetta sandwich. Quartered gold creamer potatoes are glazed with a thin coating of pork fat, sprinkled with kosher salt, and roasted until the potatoes’ crispy skins yields soft, creamy insides. In case you hadn’t had your fill of pork yet, the roasted pork’s burnt ends are then added to the potatoes, for a little extra fatty crunch.

The only way to recover from a visit to Porchetta is with a long walk and a longer nap. Be sure to pick up a frequent buyer’s card on your way out the door - you’ll be back!

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes Bakery - Houston St & Forsyth St

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes Bakery
$
***
212.477.2858
137 Houston St.
http://www.knishery.com/

No trip to Manhattan’s Lower East Side is complete without a visit to Yonah Schimmel’s, the birthplace of New York City’s original Jewish knish. Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes Bakery has been in the same location since 1910, and serves potato latkes and noodle kugel along with their collection of historic knishes. Yonah Schimmel’s knishery sells standard varieties of savory knishes (mushroom, spinach, sweet potato, red cabbage, etc.) and dessert knishes (filled with fruit and cheese), as well as “modernized” daily specials like garlic-onion and “pizza” knishes.

Most New Yorkers are familiar with street vendor knishes, but those sad, tired squares of over-worked dough and instant mashed potatoes give knishes everywhere a bad name. Yonah Schimmel’s serves up fluffy, handmade mashed potatoes baked inside of a flaky, piping hot crust. All those potatoes can sit heavy in your stomach, though, so one knish should be plenty for lunch or an on-the-go afternoon snack - a dab of spicy brown mustard livens things up if you’re looking for a little extra kick.

Spinach knish

Mushroom knish

These knishes are roughly the size of softballs and, at $3.50 each, are an outrageous steal. And if you want to truly indulge in the best Jewish food the Lower East Side has to offer, infamous Katz’s deli is just four blocks east along Houston St!

Sigiri Sri Lanka – 6th St & 1st Ave

Sigiri Sri Lanka
$
*
212.614.9333
91 1st Ave.
http://www.sigirinyc.com/

Sigiri Sri Lanka, one of the few Sri Lankan restaurants in Manhattan, is nestled in between two Indian restaurants just off the East Village’s Curry Row. Sri Lankan cCurries and biriyanis bear a resemblance to familiar Indian dishes, but Sri Lanka’s culinary identity is found in dishes like Pork Black Curry, Chicken Lamprais, and String Hopper Kotthu. The menu descriptions of these items (found below the jump) sound promising, but are ultimately disappointingly bland and completely forgettable.

Dim lighting can be effective in certain settings, but being able to see food is an important part of tasting it, particularly so when trying food from a new country. Sigiri Sri Lanka is incredibly dark, and when eating the Chicken Lamprais, it is hard to tell if your fork had found a piece of chicken, fish, or plantain (sadly, a larger slight to the food than to the lighting).

Sri Lankan food is rumored to be spicier than Indian food, which I find hard to believe based on my experiences here and with Indian food, but if this is true, it is not artfully done at Sigiri Sri Lanka. It is difficult to discern individual spice elements within a dish and also across the different dishes - the overall impression is of an amalgamation of spices dumped into the pot with too heavy a hand, and with no attention to balance.

Sigiri Sri Lanka has received popular reviews for their food on websites like FoodieView and Citysearch, but there is a bevy of similarly priced restaurants in the area that serve better food. I don’t know if Sigiri Sri Lanka was having an off night or if I just don’t like Sri Lankan food, but I doubt I’ll give the bland darkness of this restaurant and its food a second chance.

Luke’s Lobster - 7th St & 1st Ave

Luke’s Lobster
$$
**
212.387.8487
93 East 7th St
http://www.lukeslobster.com/

On a recent visit to Caracas, I noticed that the empty retail space in between Caracas-Take Out and Caracas-Dine In had been papered over and “Luke’s Lobster”, a new lobster joint, was moving in soon. I didn’t think much of it until Tasting Table and Thrillist began reporting on some fantastic lobster shack soon to open in the East Village, where the lobster rolls would be sold at a price about half that of New York’s other lobster rolls - already Luke’s was shaping up to be more than just your average hole-in-the-wall seafood dive. As if the price wasn’t attractive enough, Luke’s gives Red Hook Lobster Pound some competition for freshest seafood, as their lobster is brought in directly from Maine in a matter of hours and the meat can be traced back to the harbor where it was caught.

Luke’s is a walk-in establishment with only a few bar stools and a steady line out the door once the afternoon hits. Behind the counter, the walls are stacked high with top-split buns and Cape Cod potato chips, and a staff of three piles giant pieces of claw and tail meat into the toasted, buttery rolls.

“A Taste of Maine” platter: Lobster, crab, and shrimp rolls, a pair of Empress crab claws, chips, and drinks.

Luke’s lobster roll - sitting proud and pretty, with large, identifiable hunks of claw, knuckle, & tail meat!

These aren’t so much “lobster rolls” as piles of lobster loaded into a roll. The cool, sweet lobster meat sits on top of a warm roll with just a smear of mayonnaise - the lobster itself is seasoned only with a light sprinkling of oregano, celery salt, and thyme, in lieu of the traditional mayonnaise, diced celery, and lemon juice. With their late hours, and at $14/4-oz roll, this is a fantastic deal - perfect for those late night cravings where you need a little piece of Maine!

(open 11 am - midnight, Sunday-Wednesday; 11 am - 2 am, Thursday-Saturday)

Locanda Verde - Greenwich St & N. Moore St

Locanda Verde
$$$
***
212.925.3797
377 Greenwich St
http://locandaverdenyc.com/

Almost three years ago, I had the ricotta cheese at A Voce, and still haven’t been able to get it out of my head. When news broke that Andrew Carmellini had left his chef position at A Voce, I was worried that he’d take the recipe with him and I might never be able to enjoy it again, that I’d missed my chance!

Carmellini did take this recipe with him, but fortunately for me, he’s back in the kitchen at Robert De Niro’s new restaurant, Locanda Verde, and he brought his amazing ricotta with him! Situated in the same space where former disaster Ago was located, Locanda Verde is a family-style restaurant in TriBeCa that is more “dark wood and fire”-Italian than “checked tablecloths”-Italian, with a menu that’s truly built for sharing. Salty focaccia topped with fresh tomatoes and herbs is served in lieu of a bread basket, and tastes even better with a little ricotta spread on top!

I’ve mentioned this ricotta three times now, so I think it deserves some description - a sheep’s milk ricotta with sea salt and herbs, this amazingly light, fresh cheese is fantastic when sprinkled with just a little olive oil and thickly spread over slabs of grilled country bread. If Locanda Verde were closer to home, I might stop in and eat this every day!

The menu reflects Locanda Verde’s heavy Italian influence, with many dishes listed in Italian and the menu broken up into cicchetti (appetizers), antipasti (first course), pasta, secondi (second course), and contorni (sides). Particularly notable appetizers include the lamb meatball sliders and (of course!) the ricotta, but the grilled octopus appetizer is cooked perfectly (no rubbery calamari tendrils here!) and an order of lightly fried artichoke hearts is well complemented by a side of yoghurt and mint.

Carmellini’s hearty and passionate cooking has helped to earn him his well-deserved reputation as a pasta genius. His maltagliati, a roughly-cut, flat pasta, is served with pesto, heirloom tomatoes, and olives, and is finished with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. It is so fresh and the colors are so vibrant, eating this dish really tastes like walking through a garden.

Maltagliati with pesto and parmigiano-reggiano

The extra-wide pappardelle noodles with lamb Bolognese are topped with a generous portion of ricotta, and the gigantone (huge, thick, al dente tubes of pasta) is drenched in “Sunday night ragù”, thick with stick-to-your-ribs pork.

Left: Pappardelle with lamb Bolognese, mint, and sheep’s milk ricotta; Right: Gigantone with Sunday night ragù and provolone picante

Secondi plates are seafood dishes like halibut and scallops, and meat dishes like duck, veal cheeks, and porchetta. The fire-roasted garlic chicken for two is the real stand-out, though - it’s a whole roasted bird with crispy skin and loads of garlic and herbs. The table next to ours ordered this and the wonderful smell of sweet, roasted garlic turned the heads of every diner it passed on its way out of the kitchen!

Desserts here are not to be overlooked - pastry chef Karen Demasco has crafted a wonderful menu, void of cliché tiramisus and full of beautifully rustic desserts like almond semifreddo, chocolate torta, and a pistachio brown butter cake with seasonal fruits and pistachio gelato.

Pistachio brown butter cake, with plums and nectarines, and pistachio gelato

Locanda Verde has a strong selection of cheeses, but the waitstaff should be more knowledgeable about them - when asked for a recommendation for a semi-soft, earthy cheese or “anything that’s not blue cheese”, they pointed us toward the Gorgonzola Cremificato and the Blue di Moncenisio... two blue cheeses. We made a lucky guess, though, and stumbled across a fantastic cheese that was exactly what we were looking for.

Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson, a washed-rind, semi-soft cheese, with sweet and nutty tones - served with raw honey, spicy nuts, and fruit-and-nut bread

A visit to Locanda Verde is like eating with your Italian grandmother - you’re served more food than you can possibly eat, but you find yourself devouring every last bite. I can’t wait to be back!

Pearl Oyster Bar - Cornelia St & W4th St

Pearl Oyster Bar
$$$
****
212.691.8211
18 Cornelia St.
http://www.pearloysterbar.com/

I love going to Pearl Oyster Bar - this weekend marked the fourth time I’ve been back in a year, and each visit is as delightful as the first. Pearl Oyster Bar has all the rustic charm of the Maine coast (where owner and chef Rebecca Charles grew up), but with a dash of polish, courtesy of Manhattan chicness. The long, marble bar and cream- and gray-painted walls evoke the inside of an oyster shell, while touches like old photographs, a hand-lettered sign above the bar, and the daily specials marked on a blackboard conjure up memories of your favorite New England lobster shack. Pearl Oyster Bar doesn’t take reservations (and isn’t open on Sundays), but if you’re willing to sit at the counter, the wait isn’t usually more than half-an-hour.

In all my visits, I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here. The chowder is thick and full of heavy cream, sweet clams, and smoky bacon; scallops and whole grilled fish are well-seasoned and cooked perfectly; and the bouillabaisse is spot-on, full of plump mussels, clams that taste like the ocean, and a succulent lobster tail, all swimming in sweet, salty lobster stock. The two stand-out dishes here, though, are the fried oysters and the lobster roll - without question.

Six to a serving, the big, plump oysters are dipped in batter and fried, then served on a layer of tartar sauce on the half shell, with lemon wedges on the side. I don't like tartar sauce, but something about Pearl Oyster Bar's combination of mayonnaise, scallions, red onions, and chopped pickles makes me want to lick the shells clean! The batter is light, and you’re still able to taste the oyster’s brisk, ocean flavor, even through the other competing flavors and ingredients.

Lobster rolls are a long-standing summer tradition, particularly on the rocky coasts of New England. Pearl Oyster Bar’s lobster roll is one I crave in all seasons, though - large, sweet hunks of tender, pink tail meat are gorgeously piled high on a top-split, toasted, buttered roll. Charles uses a small amount of mayonnaise, along with finely chopped celery, lemon juice, and chives, but the mayonnaise-to-lobster ratio is still high enough to put your napkin to good use. The lobster roll is served alongside a mountain of shoestring fries, which are hot, salty, and begging for malt vinegar.

The incredible delight and satisfaction that comes from devouring one of Charles’s lobster rolls is perfect for any occasion. Finally got that promotion? Trying to shake off a bad date? I can think of no greater indulgence or consolation than an evening at Pearl Oyster Bar. And if you’re lucky enough to still have room for dessert, the lemon-scented blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream is enough to make Manhattan traffic sound like a foghorn sounding off the coast of Maine.

Tahini/Edna's Falafel Shop - St. Mark’s Place & 3rd Ave

Tahini/Edna’s Falafel Shop
$
**
212.254.0300
23 3rd Ave

What’s the name of this place?  Is it “Tahini”? “Edna’s Falafel Shop”?

This East Village falafel place seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis, but it still serves a pretty good falafel sandwich. The halal cart near my office sells falafel sandwiches for $3, making Tahini’s (Edna’s?) $5 price tag seem a little steep, but Tahini’s does do it better. The pita is warm and the falafel is bright green when you bite into it. The vegetables taste fresh and crisp and come with an assorted choice of sauces, none of which are labeled, so I’ll just call them yellow, green, “spicy”, and white (tzatziki, I assume).

The chicken kabob pita sandwich is also quite good, although it’s a bit of a misnomer since the chicken does not come from a kabob, but is shaved off a tall, vertical spit, like the ones used for gyros. The chicken was tender and surprisingly flavorful, tasting almost Indian with spices like cardamom and turmeric. This is also served with chopped vegetables and in the same warm pita as the falafel.

St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenue is full of falafel joints - some boast $1 falafel, others look like a front for more illicit (and probably illegal) behavior, but Tahini stands out to me - it’s clean and fresh, with good, filling food.

Calexico Cart - Wooster St & Prince St

Calexico Cart
$
*** (for what it is)
NW Corner of Wooster St & Prince St
(see also: Broadway St & Broome St)
http://www.calexicocart.com/

The Calexico Cart has built up a huge cult following over the years, earning the 2008 Vendy Award for best “sidewalk chef” in New York City. New York is not exactly known for its Mexican food, but Calexico serves tacos, burritos, and rolled-up quesadillas with a California-Mexico flair (get it? Cal-exico??), and is rumored to be the closest you can get to really great Mexican food in the US, outside of the California/Texas area. One of my friends at work is from Texas and is a huge Mexican food snob (and rightfully so, it’s pretty amazing out there), so we got a crew together during lunch to visit their Wooster & Prince location, to see if Calexico lives up to the hype.

Burrito bowl: rice, beans, carne asada (hiding under the rice), pico de gallo, avocado crema – also comes with a wedge of lime, and more cheese than the regular burrito. If the burritos had everything that the burrito bowls do, that would have helped make them as “AMAZING” as I’d heard they would be.

The burrito is supposed to come with beans, rice, and steak, along with pico de gallo and avocado crema, but none of our burritos actually had any pico de gallo in them. I didn’t happen to get any steak in my first burrito bite, just average-tasting rice and slightly overcooked beans, so I was starting to get nervous that this burrito was no better than what you’d find at the Chipotle down the street. And then I had a bite of the steak.

Calexico’s carne asada is the most amazing hanger steak I’ve ever been served, outside of prestigious restaurants like L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Just to be clear, a street vendor like Calexico can’t compare at all to a Michelin-starred restaurant like L’Atelier, but all too often, nice restaurants will serve hanger steak as a tough, stringy mess - which makes Calexico’s great steak that much more impressive, since its prepared on the street by a couple of Cali-hipsters.

The burrito is littered throughout with tender chunks of wonderfully seasoned steak - delicately spicy, and with a subtle heat that lingers afterward. If you like a little more spice, they have to-go packets of Cholula hot sauce, which can be washed down with a Jarrito’s soda (watermelon, lemon-lime, or mandarin orange).

The pork and chicken are also great choices, but with carne asada this good, I wouldn’t waste my time on anything else. Calexico Cart has earned a new place in my lunchtime rotation!

Click here for full cart menu; burritos only are served at the Broadway & Broome location.

Momofuku Noodle Bar - 11th St & 1st Ave

Momofuku Noodle Bar
$$
****
212.777.7773
171 1st Ave
http://www.momofuku.com/noodle/default.asp

This weekend, Little Scarlet posted a loving review of Ippudo. It’s hard to think of Ippudo, though, without drawing comparisons to its East Village neighbor and competitor, Momofuku Noodle Bar. Chef Morimoto may have ranked Momofuku higher by a single point - swayed in large part by David Chang’s personally serving Iron Chef Morimoto - but what kind of experience can the average ramen eater expect? It’s only fair that Little Scarlet revisit Momofuku Noodle Bar, so read on for the results of the competition!

Both ramen houses have lauded menus, full of successful, delicious items, but the real stand-outs at both are steamed pork buns and ramen:

Steamed pork buns
Both pork buns have the same steamed, white bun folded in half around slices of fat-laden pork belly, crisp vegetables, and Asian-flavored sauce. The bun is softer and lighter at Ippudo, and their pork seems to be fattier, and therefore more tender. Ippudo has a spicier, creamier sauce that makes a kind of slaw out of the iceberg lettuce and cabbage beneath it, but I prefer Momofuku’s sweeter hoisin sauce, with its raw cucumbers and finely diced scallion rings.

Winner:      Tie
Both pork buns are amazingly good with no clear winner, so it's up to personal preference to determine the “superior” bun.

Ramen (Momofuku Ramen vs. Akamaru Shin Classic ramen)
There are no additional toppings to order at Momofuku, but with piles of scallions, sliced radishes, bamboo shoots, both sliced pork belly and braised pork shoulder, and a perfectly poached egg, there isn't need for much more! One poke of a chopstick sends the egg's beautiful, sunny yolk oozing out over curled, squiggly noodles - much like bibimbap, these toppings are meant to be mixed on your own, at the table.

Winner:      Ippudo
The Momofuku Ramen gets extra depth and richness from the two cuts of pork, while Ippudo’s ramen is cleaner, flavored by the combination of ginger, miso, red-pepper paste, and sesame oil. Maybe it's the aphrodisiacal quality of Ippudo’s braised pork belly, but Ippudo’s Akamaru Shin ramen ranks ahead - but only by one point!

Atmosphere
Ippudo's energetic attitude, shared tables, and “split-sofa” chairs make for a fun, cozy date night; all of Momofuku's chairs are backless (not the best for the geriatric crowd), but sitting at the counter is exciting, like dinner and a show!

Verdict:
Little Scarlet would sooner revisit Ippudo than Momofuku Noodle Bar, but it's such close competition, you should really taste for yourself - and then come back here and comment!

Ippudo - 10th St & 4th Ave

Ippudo
$$
****
212.388.0088
65 4th Ave
http://www.ippudo.com/ny/

Last October, famed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto listed the top five ramen joints in the East Village, and Ippudo came in second only to David Chang's revered Momofuku Noodle Bar - by 1 point out of 20. I’d been to Momofuku Noodle Bar once before and loved it, so when Scott was craving udon noodle soup, I convinced him to try the ramen at Ippudo, instead.

Ippudo doesn't take reservations, so the wait can be pretty long - at 10 pm on a Friday, we still had a 30-minute wait. We killed time having a drink at the bar, which offers mostly sake, shochu (Sake cocktails), and Asian beer. I had a Cherry Blossom, which is plum wine, Campari, and white grapefruit juice - it was delicious and really interesting! It truly tasted of sweet plums, but the grapefruit juice’s tartness kept the sweetness from being overpowering.

The restaurant itself is fun and energetic, with a waitstaff to match. There are some private booths in the back, but I recommend sitting at one of the two large tables in the center of the room. These tables have giant pits cut out of the center, which are painted blood-red and filled with charred driftwood and candles. The chairs surrounding these tables are like small, love seat sofas cut down the middle. Each chair has a back and an arm on one side, so that two chairs pushed together make up one unit – it’s fun and cozy, but you need to like the person you're out with!

Everything we tried here was amazing! The hirata buns (steamed pork buns) are slices of very tender, delicately spiced pork with just enough fat to truly melt in your mouth. Topped with chopped iceberg lettuce and a mildly spicy sauce, the whole creation is cradled in the folds of a pillowy, steamed bun. The real show-stoppers here, though, are the ramen dishes, and Ippudo offers additional ramen toppings, like hard-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, and braised pork belly.

Left: Akamaru Moden ramen; Right: Shiromaru Hakata Classic ramen (click to enlarge). Both ramens are featured with an additional order of braised pork belly.

The braised pork belly is so amazing that I could never come back to Ippudo without ordering it. It’s plump and fatty, and really picks up extra salty flavor from the ramen broth. It pulls apart sensually in your mouth into tender bits of fat and meat that burst with flavor as they dissolve on your tongue.

With the pork belly added to it, the Akamaru ramen is just unbelievably good. The noodles are thin and al dente, and the broth is so silky and smooth, it's… almost creamy, but without any dairy. The red-pepper paste, sesame oil, and scallions mix together beautifully, and the more you eat, the more you're able to notice the subtle ginger notes. But the pork belly... it's truly worth mentioning again how good it is - having had it, I now can't imagine any ramen without it!

If you’re really hungry and don’t think that a huge bowl of ramen is enough food, you can ask for “Kae-Dama” – if you time it properly and finish your noodles about halfway through your soup, you can ask for an extra order of noodles to finish off the broth. I couldn't possibly eat two orders of noodles without hurting myself, but Ippudo is so good, I want to try!

I'd need to go back to Momofuku to double-check, but I think the pork buns and the ramen are better at Ippudo - it’s a fantastic meal, and I can't wait to go back! If only they could do something about the 90-minute wait during the dinner rush…

Permanent Brunch, 6th St & 1st Ave

Permanent Brunch
$$
***
212.533.3315
95 First Avenue
http://www.permanentbrunch.com/

Brunch is usually an excuse to eat sweet breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles long into the afternoon, while indulging in day-time drinking with Mimosas and Bloody Marys. Women recount last week’s gossip to their friends, and there's often more than one tired-looking boy with a girl in yesterday's party dress. Brunch places are on every corner in New York, so there’s a fierce competition for customers, but Permanent Brunch really strikes a chord with New York's brunch-goers.

Most of the guys I know have never been to brunch without their families or girlfriends, but they all rave about “this all-day brunch place in the East Village with a bacon menu – a menu of just bacon!!” Permanent Brunch (PB) just opened a few weeks ago, and while they aren’t offering their full menu yet, what they have so far is terrific!

Most brunches are breakfast foods eaten during lunch time, but PB takes the breakfast/lunch elements of “br-unch” literally, serving up a delicious blend of breakfast favorites with lunch-time ingredients. The menu items here are almost entirely on the savory side - waffles are topped with chicken, mushrooms, and pearl onions, and a syrup-less french toast is stuffed with salty ham and cheese.

Scott and I showed up around 12h30 and a long line had already formed, but a table for two opened up in about five minutes. It took quite a bit longer before we got our food, or maybe it just seemed that way since I was so hungry. Either way, I've never spent so much time ogling my neighbors’ plates! In addition to the Pan-Roasted Chicken & Waffle and the Ham & Cheese Stuffed French Toast, we had a side of duck-fat fingerling potatoes, a biscuit with PB-made jam and butter, and two of the five bacons from PB’s Artisanal Bacon Bar.

The chicken’s crispy skin gives way to juicy meat, and the waffle serves as a great vessel for the mushroom’s woodsy sauce. An order of french toast sandwiches smoked ham and an earthy, aged cheese between thick slices of egg-battered bread. Both are their own delicious, salty heaven, but if you're looking for the sweet breakfast versions, you're going to be disappointed.

The fingerling potatoes are good, but sadly lacking in delicious duck-fat flavor - they could easily have been fried in butter and I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. The biscuit and jam are great, though. Today’s jam is a thick-cut orange marmalade, and the biscuit takes on two very different flavors, depending on whether you add butter or marmalade.

Of the two bacons, New Braunfel’s Smokehouse peppered bacon was my favorite. Its thick rashers are crispy and chewy, with a nice smoky flavor and peppery after-taste. The Hungarian Smoked Kolozvari bacon tastes like kielbasa and instantly brought back memories of the Hungarian hard-boiled eggs and beet horseradish my family serves with kielbasa every Easter.

Permanent Brunch has a great concept going for it, and I’m excited for their full menu to be available. If they would just add pie to the menu, I’d have a new weekend tradition!


**Update: CLOSED. Permanent Brunch reopens as “Steak Shoppe”, May 2010**

Café St. Bart’s, 50th St & Park Ave

Café St. Bart’s
$$$
**
212.593.3333
109 E. 50th St
http://www.insideparknyc.com/

The first time I went to Café St. Bart’s, adjacent to St. Bartholomew’s Church, was almost four years ago. I felt so grown up, having lunch outside on Park Avenue with my father and one of his business colleagues for my first professional informational interview. The meeting went well, but years later what I remember most is that Café St. Bart’s served the most amazing steak au poivre, with perfect french fries.

This past weekend, Scott suggested Café St. Bart’s for lunch and I was so excited to go back a second time! I tried to find their phone number to see if we needed reservations (you don’t) or if there is a dress code (there isn’t), but it turns out “Café St. Bart’s” doesn’t technically exist anymore - it’s now “Inside Park at St. Bart’s”, with seating available on their outdoor terrace.

The menu looks amazing, full of sandwiches, pizettes, and main courses that make the most of seasonal ingredients. My second visit was good, but didn’t quite live up to the first. Scott and I shared an order of Black Lentil and Bacon Soup, which reminded me of being 7 years old and watching Robin Hood on a rainy day, eating Campbell’s soup - nice for a trip down memory lane, but disappointing from such a lauded restaurant. My Cuban sandwich was almost fantastic - capers and shaved carrots nestled between layers of roasted pork, ham, and Swiss cheese... notice anything missing? The Cuban sandwich had no pickle! Just a pickle spear on the side, the same as you’d get with a grilled cheese. I enjoyed my pork-on-pork sandwich, but a Cuban really needs the briny, sourness of a pickle to counteract the fatty sweetness of the pork and ham. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

Scott’s tempura-fried brook trout sandwich, though, looked beautiful and tasted fantastic. A brioche bun holds two, big trout fillets dipped in tempura batter and lightly fried, with arugula, caramelized onions, and chili mayonnaise. It came with a lovely heirloom tomato salad - Cherokee purples, red cherry, and yellow grape tomatoes are mixed with basil, radishes, and chives for a salad that smells like it came straight from the farm.

I’d still go back, but Café St. Bart’s Inside Park at St. Bart’s doesn’t hold that same place in my little-girl version of being a “grown up”.