August 2005
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Month August 2005

Entries 5 Total

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Aug 15, ’05

163 1st Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets
212/475-7899
about $80 for two, with two drinks, with tip
♥ ♥

Updated, 2007: Momofuku has moved two stores down to make room for the third restaurant in their family, Momofuku Ko

Momofuku, which means “lucky peach,” is a nicely-designed noodlebar with mostly Japanese and Korean-influenced dishes plus a touch of Chinese. It reminded me of London’s Wagamama, which means “naughty child” in Nihongo, famous for their inexpensive and quick fast food as for their interior’s design.

We shared a plate of baby bok choy, flash-fried in hot oil, garlic and chilis–a good start to whet the appetite. Since it was almost a hundred degrees out, I picked the Momofuku somen with chilled noodles and dipping broth. My bowl came with mushrooms and very yummy shredded Berkshire pork which reminded me of leftover Filipino lechon, or roast pork. It’s a huge serving and more than enough for my hungry self. My companion opted for the pork neck ramen with neck meat and poached egg. It was also delicious. Both were served with scallions and menma, or bamboo shoots.

Even if it looks like a ramenya, a place that sells ramen in Japan, any new visitor would be glad to know that it just isn’t that. Dishes change seasonally, just like David Chang, owner and chef, learned at Craft. The noodles are not soggy and they have the right firmness and tenderness. There are buns, kimchi chigae, or fermented vegetables in soybean paste soup, and Sichuan-spiced crawfish in the menu.

I normally cook the baby bok choy at home when they are in season, so I thought the $8 price was pretty steep. Our tall Hefeweizens were also $10 apiece. In fact, everything is priced twice as much as its counterparts along St. Marks. Alas, this is New York City and this is the lower east side.

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Corner Bistro

Aug 14, ’05

331 West 4th Street at Jane
212/242.9502
about $45 for two, with a few drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Possibly the best burgers in New York City besides Le Parker Meridien’s, people wait at Corner Bistro not just for the $2.50 McSorley’s but also for the Bistro Burger, a slab of juicy beef so big you can barely flatten it to put it in your mouth. The best part of it all is that it comes with crispy bacon and onions.

Related post/s:
Le Parker Meridien Burger Joint

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Falai

Aug 8, ’05

60 Clinton Street between Rivington and Stanton
212/253.1960
about $100 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

I rarely go to an Italian restaurant because I can’t, and don’t want to, eat a whole big bowl of pasta. Falai serves the familiar but transcends at the same time because of the imaginative use of ingredients.

Rich chicken livers were served with a fluff of polenta but also surrounded with chanterelles. The baby octopus did not come with vinaigrette but instead cooked with caramelized Gaeta olives for that mildly sweet taste. Eggplants fried in batter sounded off-putting in 90-degree weather but they were sliced so thin and done so lightly, perfectly. For our main course, we split the ravioli squid ink pasta stuffed with pine nuts, scallops, white asparagus fonduta and baked zucchini. It was heavenly.

Before chef Iacopo Falai managed the kitchen of Bread TriBeCa, he was the pastry chef at Le Cirque 2000. He pays tributes to his roots with the restaurant’s dessert menu, but alas, we had to settle for a dainty strawberry sorbet because we still had glasses of Veltliner and Tocai and Prosecco to finish.

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Scallop Salad with Saffron Dressing

Aug 7, ’05

I’m not a big fan of mayo so I used the light kind for this recipe. Make sure you serve this as soon as you plate it so that the mayo doesn’t look curdled and the greens do not wilt.

Ingredients:
6 scallops
pinch of saffron threads
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsps of cream
1 tsp lemon juice
butter
olive oil
mixed greens

1. To make the dressing, place saffron threads in a bowl and soak in 2 tsps of hot water for ten minutes. Add mayo and mix well until rich yellow. Stir in the cream and then lemon juice. Refrigerate until needed.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a hot skillet. Sear scallops, about 2 minutes each side.
3. Serve scallops on a bed of mixed greens. Top with saffron dressing.

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Lamb Salad with Mint and Dill

Aug 7, ’05

I know I have a lot of favorites, but this is really one of them. I loved the fact that a dish with game can still be fresh and light just by adding mint leaves and julienned summer vegetables.

Ingredients:
lamb fillets
1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
half a red bell pepper, julienned
half a green bell pepper, julienned
half a cucumber, julienned
handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped
fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl with the mint and dill.
2. Heat a frying pan, add olive oil. When oil is hot, fry lamb fillets until tender but still pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Set aside for about 5 minutes. When cool, thinly slice the lamb and toss in the salad.
3. In a screw-top jar, combine lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Shake well. Pour in salad and toss lightly.

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