Sunday, August 29, 2010

Matsuri-NYC

So while we were looking for places to hold the engagement dinner, there was one japanese restaurant that was considered as a contender for EN,  it was Matsuri. The main reasons were that they had a well priced tasting menu and I heard the serving sizes were larger than at EN. The pictures from this night are not very good since I only had my iphone camera to depend on and the restaurant was oh so dark.

When you first enter, it looks like small place, but you walk down the stairs you see that the main dining room is in a HUGE basement decorated like a japanese anime dream sequence.
Matsuri interior
When we first sat down, we really liked the interior of Matsuri. We were seated in a booth, that had a canopy type structure, which made it feel quite private. The choice was basically made to hold the party here at this point.  DF and his roommate both ordered the $65 tasting menu and the sake flight. I had the rice pot, agedashi tofu, and a cocktail called "Toyko 75".
Tokyo 75
OHhhh.. what could I say about this cocktail? The ingredients: Shochu, yuzu, prosecco, calpico.
I like shochu and yuzu just fine, prosecco is my wine of choice, and I really don't believe you can go wrong with calpico. BUT all together, the drink was quite an assault on my tastebuds. It was pretty bitter and its only redeeming factor was that berry (asian plum?) on the plastic sword. NOT worth the $14. 
Kumamoto Oysters
First up was the oysters served with yuzu ice. I thought this was a good dish. The ice on top is yuzu flavored so there was an icy sour lemony flavor with the oyster.  DF on the other hand did not enjoy it so much, he felt the yuzu was covering up the natural oyster flavor. 
Kobe Beef Tataki
First entree was the Kobe beef with mustard vinegar sauce. The taste of this dish was pretty plain, something you'd expect at a lower end restaurant made with regular beef. A great injustice to the kobe beef used in this preparation.
Agedashi Tofu
After having the Agedashi tofu dish at EN, this tofu dish tasted like something you could make at home. The texture of the tofu was like the ones you buy at the asian grocery stores. Its supposed to be deep fried, but the outside of the tofu was soggy from the sauce. The sauce itself was too heavy and covered the taste of tofu.
Sake Black Cod
Miso black cod is such a common dish at japanese restaurants, you'd think most of them would get them right by now. This one is cooked with sake instead and really left a lot to be desired. The skin was mushy and the meat did not come off in sections like fresh fish should.
Duck Breast
The roasted duck breast was too tough for me to even finish! I did hear that duck dishes are difficult to get right because some chefs tend to cook the crap out of the duck, this is most likely what happened here.
Sushi Assortment
DF and his roommate were really offended when this dish arrived at our table. First of all, the eel and cucumber rolls were falling apart and they didn't think the sashimi looked too fresh. Their main complaint was that this looked like something we used to buy at our college cafeteria. Since I enjoyed the sushi served in college, I happily gobbled up all the rolls.
Rice Pot
The final savory dish was the rice pot. At this point in the evening I was sorely disappointed with my dining experience at Matsuri. This rice pot did not really help. I only liked the two giant piece of shrimp you see at the top of the dish. The rest of the dish was mixed with chicken and I had a really hard time eating it. I think I would have preferred friend rice instead. The chicken was not flavorful and I just felt like this dish only accomplishes the goal of filling you up, it is not enjoyable or satisfying at all.

Ironically, the best dish of the night was the one I did not take a picture of. The green tea tiramisu and red bean ice cream was a delish end to an otherwise disappointing evening. It did take them a good 30 minutes after the last dish served to get us our dessert though. I thought maybe they had forgotten about us, but it was worth the wait to end the evening on a high note. The tiramisu was light and not too sweet. Red bean ice cream was so good I ate it all myself (even though it was technically DF's dish). 

The bill for everything came out to be around $90 per person. It really is too much to pay for the quality of food we received. The restaurant is in the trendy meatpacking district, so it is always filled with well dressed party goers getting a bite to eat before getting completely trashed. Its proximity to the best nightlife in the city is most likely what is keeping it alive despite the food quality and price. It's a skip for me, and I'm very glad we ultimately chose EN instead. 

Friday, August 27, 2010

Stanton Social - NYC

Stanton Social is one of those restaurants that I have heard about frequently, and has been on my list to try for a while, yet I never get around to it! Then, when my friends chose this restaurant for a happy hour, it was the perfect opportunity and I came here early for dinner first! It was a lot more scene-y than I expected for the area, very darkly lit and quite loud.


When our waiter first told us that the portions were "small plates" and meant for sharing, he suggested 6-7 dishes for the two of us. However, my friend and I figured we would just order a few dishes since we weren't that hungry. She had no idea what she wanted, so she just let me order. (I warned her that if she just let me order, all I would order is fish haha.) We ordered 3 dishes first - the red snapper tacos, tuna tartare roll, and the wasabi crusted salmon (since the waiter noted that this was a more substantial dish, worth the higher price of $17).

Red Snapper Tacos creamy avocado & spicy mango

First off, when the red snapper tacos got to the table, my friend and I both remarked about how adorable they were. The taste did not disappoint either. I've never really been a fan of hard shell tacos, but I did not mind them in this case. I love restaurants that give you a slice of lemon/lime with seafood, I think dishes can always use that refreshing note.

Nori Spiced Tuna Tartare Roll

When I asked the waiter for recommendations, he highly recommended the tuna tartare roll, saying it was his favorite dish of the menu - and after eating a piece, I could definitely see why. I have had tuna tartare many times, but this will probably go down as a favorite. After we got these first two dishes, my friend and I realized that yes - the waiter was correct, the dishes were tiny! We added two more dishes at this point - the octopus and the lobster roll.

Wasabi Pea Crusted Salmon asian pesto & soba

The wasabi crusted salmon was excellent! I loved the crispy crust that the wasabi formed - and the wasabi flavor was very subtle (a good thing since I actually don't really like wasabi). The salmon was also tender, which was a nice contrast to the texture of the crust - I love dishes with different textural notes like that! The soba noodles were okay, tasted mostly like soy sauce? After eating this dish, my friend and I were stuffed and regretted ordering the two additional dishes.

Skillet Roasted Octopus chorizo, garlic & sherry vinegar

However, the octopus was very good, reminded me of dishes I've had at Spanish tapas restaurants. They definitely used a heavy hand with the garlic butter though.

Rhode Island Style Lobster Roll

NYC has so many lobster rolls nowadays and I've still never tried one, so I decided to order a lobster roll to try. I think this might be the only dish I was disappointed in at Stanton Social. All I could taste was mayo, rather than any true seafood flavor. Maybe I should try Ed's Lobster Roll or Luke's Lobster next time. If my friend and I had stopped at the first 3 dishes, it would have been a relatively affordable dinner. However, these small dishes seriously add up!

After my dinner in the main dining room, I was actually confused for a while - I did not know this restaurant had a bar area, and randomly wandered upstairs to the tiny second floor - still confused - went up another set of stairs to the third floor, and finally found the bar area! There is also a really nice lounge area next to the bar. I prefer light and refreshing cocktails, and do not like anything overly sweet. I also looove drinks with green tea or Asian cocktails in general - I was a big fan of "The Social Tea" drink - ketel one citron, gunpowder green tea, and orange-honey marmalade.marmalade

Cafe Henri - Long Island City

Even though Long Island City has several restaurants, I seldom sit down to eat in one of the restaurants in my neighborhood. Since I had another friend visiting town, I decided to start off our day with breakfast at Cafe Henri, which also has a location in West Village. Cafe Henri is known for their crepes. The cafe has cute benches and plants by their door outside and when I walked in, I really liked the laidback, cozy, cafe vibe.


In addition to the nice decor, I also loved their music! While my friend and I were waiting for our food, I think I said "I love this song" at least 3 times to my friend. Some of the songs I remember were "She Will Be Loved" ~ Maroon 5, "Freefalling" ~ Tom Petty, and "Name" ~ Goo Goo Dolls. Cafe Henri could have won me over on their soundtrack alone. The restaurant has several "classic" French dishes and sandwiches, as well as a section of their menu devoted to "savory crepes" and one for "sweet crepes."


I ordered the "Saumon Fume, Creme Au Basilic," which is simply a wheat crepe with smoked salmon, grilled vegetables, and fresh basil cream, served alongside a light salad. The crepe was very good and light. Thinking back on it, the grilled vegetables might have overpowered the smoked salmon a little, but I still scarfed down the crepe. (As you read this blog, and my next posting on the Stanton Social, you might quickly learn that I basically only eat seafood when I eat out at restaurants ~ probably a byproduct of growing up in Annapolis, and it's just healthier!)


It was my friend's first time trying a crepe! She got the "Fruits Frais," which was simply a crepe with fresh cut fruit and a strawberry glaze. I didn't try a bite, but my friend seemed to enjoy it.

I may be slightly biased, but I love Long Island City! I would totally recommend anyone who is traveling or living in NYC to come out to LIC for lunch/dinner and to take a stroll in Gantry Plaza State Park. It is only minutes away from Times Square, Bryant Park, and Grand Central, and is literally right across the East River from 42nd Street so that you get amazing views of the Manhattan skyline.


Gantry Plaza State Park is a very well cared for park, similar to the Highline Park. It has hammocks, tons of seating, as well as a fancy children's playground.



Thursday, August 26, 2010

Otter pops for big kids

Remember the multi colored ice pops from when we were young?

When I was little, I loved the ones at the asian grocery stores that were "fruit" flavored tubes of liquid you can bring home and freeze. They did not taste like anything more than sugar and water, but they served the purpose of cooling you down on a hot summer day.

So recently I started watching korean dramas again, and in this one particular drama (My Wife is a Superwoman ) the main characters kept eating some kind of frozen treat. Of course, fatty me kept trying to figure out what it was. I thought it was a popsicle but they looked like they were drinking it instead of licking it.  Plus, they never removed the wrapper, so I couldn't tell what the content looked like! Such teases.

The when I was doing my grocery shopping at the local Lotte, this brown, blue, and orange package caught my eye. It was the same packaging that I saw in the drama!

So it turns out, the mystery treat is called Papico, and it's actually a huge tube of chocolate ice.
It has a top you just rip right off.



The opening is pretty small so you need to wait until the content is a bit melted to squeeze it through the top. Unfortunately when its melted the top is crazy hard to snap off, so to eat this you have to rip off the top when its still frozen and then wait around for a while for it be to melted enough to suck through the hole. 
It's actually pretty good. It tastes like icy chocolate milkshakes, or fudge-sicles. Since the tube is pretty big, each squeeze gives you a generous mouthful of icy goodness, so you don't have to work hard to eat it.  It's actually nice to eat a popsicle type treat that I don't have to worry about dripping onto my clothing. 

Although fun and delicious, its main downfall is its price. I guess since it's imported from Korea, they have to charge a pretty penny to make a profit. For a pack of 6, the original price is an astonishing $8.99, and I bought it on sale for $4.99. That's more than a box of Fruit Bars! It's ironic that otter pops and the ice tubes of our youth were popular because it was so cheap, and this more adult version is so crazy expensive. 

However, if you've never had this, you must spoil your inner child and try it!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

An afternoon in Northern Virginia


DF (dear fiance) was visiting for the week, so I took some time off Friday afternoon to take him around to do some touristy activities. I loved Mount Vernon when I went with my parents, so I wanted to show him around the place. I highly recommend Mount Vernon for a side trip to any DC vacation.  Unlike many DC attractions, entrance to the estate of Mount Vernon is not free because it is not funded by the government. The mansion and its grounds have been preserved by the Mount Vernon's Ladies Association since the civil war! Tickets start at $15 for basic admission to the grounds and tour of the mansion. You can select a boat cruise, or a tour of the nearby Grist mill (Washington's whiskey distillery) for about an additional $5 each. Both times I visited, I was tired after just touring the main estate, and did not get a chance to do the other two activities. There is also a "National Treasure" tour four times a day that you need to book in advance. It basically is a guided tour that takes you to the locations where the movie National Treasure was filmed. 
The facade of the mansion
The main house is full of history, from rooms where important meetings during the Revolutionary War were held to a prison key from Bastille, the stories the tour guide tell are like pages from a history textbook come to life.  It was eerily creepy to be standing in the same place where so much of the history we have studied took place, imagining General Washington standing on the same location that I was.

My favorite portion of the property is definitely the back porch:
View of the Potomac River

It has an amazing view of the Potomac! There's actually a path you can take that leads you to the banks of the Potomac river. Absolutely amazing view. Washington and his men (slaves) sold the fish caught from this river to support the plantation and its expenses. 
Cattle
The plantation is kept as a working farm to give visitors a real sense of what it was like during Washington's residency. So there are many farm animals roaming around. This is a view of the grazing cattle taken from the back porch of the mansion. The two white lines you see are the columns of the mansion. 
Pioneer Farm
They have even preserved a plot of farm land on the property. The focus of the picture above is a 16 sided barn, invented by Washington as a efficient way to de-seed wheat. In fact, one thing that really was apparent on this tour was how much Washington loved innovation, often experimenting with ideas to increase cost efficiency around the farm. I guess even rich plantation owners needs to try to reduce their bottom lines.

Turkeys at Pioneer Farm
We saw some turkeys running around the property. If you look closely between the wooden fence on the left, you can see a black and white sheep. The farm actually raises the sheep and sheers off their wool to use in demonstration of colonial fabric dyeing techniques. 

Aside from the farm, there is also a fruit and vegetables garden (which is a bit pathetic- perhaps due to the unprecedented summer heat), and George and Martha Washington's tomb, a replica of an actual slave house, and some great museum exhibits dedicated to Washington's life (be sure to watch all the movies, and take a look at his dentures). 

Anyways, I don't want to give too much away and spoil the experience of discovering the history of Mount Vernon for yourself. All I can say is that it is a highly recommended trip, and I find it more enjoyable than viewing artifacts behind the glass in a museum. Definitely worth the $15!


Since we were already in Virginia, we decided to have dinner in Old Town Alexandria and take advantage of the DC Restaurant Week happening in the metro area from Aug 16-22.  We chose Geranios on King St because it had the best Yelp! reviews of all the restaurants participating in the promotion. 
Geranios, Alexandria, VA
The exterior of the restaurant is so subtle it is easy to miss, but I do love the minimalist look, it looks clean and unassuming, like the appeal is in the quality of the food and the restaurant does not need to rely on a gimmicky look to draw in customers.



The interior is very cozy and light. The sunflower on the table really brightens the place and makes anyone instantly happier. However, I did notice it smelled OLD in the place. Maybe its due to the long colonial history of the town, but this musk of this restaurant made me feel like I was eating dinner in George and Martha Washington's attic. 

We opted for the restaurant week prix fixe here, which was actually four courses instead of the usual three course prix fixe. 

Our appetizers:
Potato Leek Soup with White Truffle Oil
Fried Calamari with Lemon Caper Sauce
I love soup, so naturally I had to order the soup item. The soup was pretty good, it tasted a bit like the base of clam chowder, but nothing to write home about. The calamari was not crispy as fried calamari usually is. It actually tasted a bit soggy. What's the point of breading if you are not going to fry it to make it crispy? Fried calamari seems like a difficult dish to mess up, but I could not eat this without the sauce. The lemon flavor of the dip was really strong, which I enjoyed. 

1st Entree:
Penne with seared tuna, olives, tomatoes, and capers
Wild Mushroom Risotto with Pancetta, Peas, Parmesan, and White Truffle Oil
The penne was drowning in sauce. DF thought it looked like store bought pasta sauce instead of freshly made. The use of marinated olives in this dish was a bad idea because it made it too salty. The seared tuna was edible but not flavorful or  memorable. DF and I both really enjoyed his risotto. It was warm and creamy, but chewy at the same time. The mushroom helped balance the richness of the white truffle oil, and the parmesan cheese went perfectly with the flavor of the risotto. They did pretty well with this dish. The one negative point is towards the end when I tasted an uncooked pea. 

2nd Entree:
Free Range Chicken Breast with Risotto, Pea Shoots, Mushrooms, and Sage
Atlantic Salmon with Mashed Potatoes, Pancetta, and Roasted Garlic and Shallots
I actually got the free range chicken as my second entree, but ended up switching with DF because I did not like the risotto. We thought the chicken was too tough, perhaps because it was free range, and the clumps of sage did not taste too great. Edible but not memorable. I enjoyed the salmon more because it was more agreeable to my palate. However, this does not mean this was a good dish. This is salmon cooked with a red wine sauce. The texture of the salmon felt like it was just cooked, not cooked well, but cooked just to get the job done, and perhaps overcooked. The meat was sticky to my teeth when I chewed on it and did not come off in pieces. Again, I really felt like the dish itself wasn't bad, but it is something I could get anywhere, even a food court. 

Dessert:
Pear and Almond Tart with Hazelnut Anglaise
Tiramisu with homemade Marscapone
First off, not too many things to say about the Tiramisu, it tastes as Tiramisu should. My one problem was the presentation. Doesn't it look like someone cut an edge piece off a large round piece of Tiramisu? And not much was done with the presentation besides drawing a sauce moat around it. A nice fruit piece, like raspberry, would make it look a lot prettier. 
The pear in the tart tasted like boiled pear, which could be how it was meant to taste. Its not necessarily bad, but it was light in flavor. The almond tart however was VERY dry. It was hard for me to eat this and I really considered asking for a glass of milk to dunk it in. 

As you can see, I did not enjoy my dining experience here. Although the price was good for a 4 course meal, when the check came, I felt it was overpriced for the quality of food we got. If this is their level of culinary skill, I am not sure why their Yelp review is so good. I will say that it was quite a popular restaurant and there was a line of patrons waiting to be seated. So I guess there are people who like this type of food. Here's my breakdown for Geranios

Pluses:
Good service (the waiters here will pull out your chairs for you when you return to the table)
Good location (there's a lot of stores to explore before and after dinner)
Mushroom Risotto
Quick food service
Discount for orders outside of prime time (before 7pm and after 9pm)
Cheap wine list

Minuses:
Food quality
very small selection of non-alcoholic beverages (the usual soda selection, and cranberry juice)

For good Italian food, I would try Il Pizzico in Rockville. The exterior looks shady but the food is delicious! Maybe one day I will do a review of them as a comparison. 

Night in Old Town
After dinner we walked along King St to get to the waterfront. Old Town has many many cute unique shops to look around. A passerby said that Old Town is like the SoHo of Virginia, which I think is a fitting description. I found a shop named Treat that claimed to offer designer clothing at sample sale prices. Unfortunately it was closed so I could not check their merchandise out, but they are in the process of setting up an online store www.shoptreat.com 
I did visit a great home design store called Decorium
Decorium, Alexandria, VA
I was attracted to the store by its fantastic decor. It was like a chandelier factory crashed into a botanical garden.
Entrance of Decorium
Interior of Decorium
The interior of Decorium reminds me of the first floor of ABC Carpet and Home in NYC (which I LOVE) because its like a bazaar type of layout. There are a lot of fun and pretty goodies to look at in the store, but the prices are ASTRONOMICAL! So if you're not rich, I'd recommend just doing some window shopping. 

Another good store to browse through is P.C. Art, which showcases and sells products created by local artisans. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures, but some of these items are truly innovative and everything looks very well made. Its a good place to browse or pick up a unique gift. 

Old Town Alexandria also offers some very interesting street performers. The one's we saw on our visit were mostly performing music. This man above was performing on "glass harps." He was incredible! I was worried someone would tip over the table and all his glasses would break. 

We finished the night off at the Marina.
Marina at night

Having been to many waterfronts over the years, I don't think the Marina at Alexandria can compare to Fisherman's Wharf, Navy Pier, or even the South Seaport in NYC. There were only a few restaurants and nothing much to do.

Overall, I think Old Town Alexandria is good to visit if you will be in the area. Not really a place to drive out of the way for. The ambiance of the neighborhood is very romantic, but you can probably find better food in the city, and the shopping is pretty pricey.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Fish - NYC

After an exhausting week (I went to sleep at 9 yesterday!), my friends and I met up at Fish in the West Village for the all-you-can-eat Maryland blue crabs for $21! The special runs from 12-4pm, but my friend and I met at 1pm and our friends joined later, as soon as they could get off work.


When we got there at 1pm, the first couple dozen of crabs that we ordered were not so good - the meat had melted away in a lot of them and the meat was mushy in others. (Since I grew up in Maryland, I have ate some pretty amazing crabs before - the best will always be the super fresh ones I ate after my friends and I went out crabbing on their boat and caught them ourselves!) Finally, around the third dozen, the crabs got really good - the meat was firm and holding together - and when you broke a claw open, the meat stayed in tact. When the crabs first get to the table, take a few seconds and let them cool down though - they come out steaming hot and they can easily burn your fingers/tongue!


Although I thought the meat in the later ones was better, there was less Old Bay flavor (although this could easily be remedied by simply adding some of the Old Bay on the table). My friends and I stayed for 4.5 hours! We ordered our last dozen at 3:50pm, and took another hour to finish that dozen, the ones we had left, and all the extra claws on the table (which we were saving toward the end as part of strategy - claws take the longest to take apart and eat!). I have definitely had enough crab for a couple weeks!

Dessert was Grom gelato nearby - pistachio and green tea :) Pistachio was my favorite!

A perfect summer Friday. My friends all commented on how fun this was - it's such a social activity! I think 75% of the time, you're not even eating but trying to crack open the crabs ~ so we were just messing around and asking each other stupid silly questions. One friend said this could be our version of a book club or knitting club, and that we should do this once a month (although depends when crab season ends...). This would also be such a fun place for a date ~ I love activity dates, and you could also see whether the girl is too prissy or not if you take her here lol.

I love living in NYC because the neighborhoods are so different from each other and you can really do so much "traveling" even within a 10 block radius. Fish was in West Village, near NYU. The area has so many great restaurants and I love the tree-lined streets between West Village and the Meatpacking District - it feels so cozy and quaint, a definite escape from the skyscrapers in midtown. Fish in particular felt like a beach-side seafood shack and worlds away from the hustle & bustle of the city. It's a nice place to escape for a couple hours.

*Oh! Another thing I forgot to mention - $4 beers! There's nothing like crabs and beer on a nice summer day.