August 2008
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Month August 2008

Entries 5 Total

Saravanaa Bhavan

Aug 27, ’08

81 Lexington Avenue corner of 26th Street
212/684.7755
about $45, with one drink, with tip
♥

The Dr. remembered a suggestion he received from one of his co-workers for some dosas in Murray Hill but the name escaped him; all he knew was that it was long and unpronounceable. Luckily we caught a glimpse of Saravanaa Bhavan’s sign as soon as we turned the corner on Lexington Avenue.

I wanted something new and I decided on two dishes I’ve never heard before after scanning the menu. (The Dr. stuck with the more familiar vegetarian dosa.) The adai avail reminded me of the hard work I put into making my own chataamari, grinding the lentils by hand using a simple mortar and pestle while watching TV. It was pasty but the texture was still grainy: unmistakably homemade.

The onions were apparent in the kaima idli, and I couldn’t stop eating. The spiciness also lingered after several spoonfuls. I slathered it with the raita, the yogurt-based dip, to keep it together. I found a new favorite and I was addicted. The salted lassi wasn’t exactly the best match but I just had to try it and cross it off my recent must-try list.

Go to Saravanaa Bhavan if you want to stray away from the usual curries and if you don’t feel like paying double at SoHo’s Hampton Chutney. The scene is a New York City one, full of family life and color.

Related post/s:
Nepalese Stuffed Chataamari recipe
Chinese Mirch is down the block

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Rayuela

Aug 20, ’08

165 Allen Street between Rivington and Stanton
212/253.8840
$103 each for a group of 8, with 3 bottles of wine and tip
♥

As soon as we walked up the steps to sit at our 8-person table, I thought Rayuela had promise. It was a bit too dark to read the menu without holding it up against the lamps, but the lighting made for a very intimate ambiance. We had a reservation and didn’t have to wait to be seated and except to remind the sommelier to bring out our third bottle of wine before our desserts came, service was pretty attentive.

But what about the food? Rayuela bills itself as a Freestyle Latino which “respects yet redefines contemporary Latin American and Spanish cuisines”. It stays loyal to that all throughout their extensive menu but what’s missing was the warmth of home-cooking I’ve always loved about those cuisines.

I probably ordered the best ceviche in the group: Siete Potencies or lobster, shrimp, scallop, crab, clams, mussels and octopus in a green tomatillo sauce. The crab and shrimp ceviche in lychee and guanabana citrus sauce was too sweet for me. Did I already mention that all the ceviches came in martini glasses? I could have done without that style.

I liked my steamed white asparagus with crabmeat, spinach, onions and roasted almonds just fine tossed in a lemon vinaigrette, as well as my octopus and chorizo served with paprika, tomato and olives, which lead me to think that sometimes you should just stay safe rather than sorry. I feel like the more traditional dishes just about made it and the more experimental lacked a coherent bind. Two of us split the duck breast marinated in sugar cane and it didn’t work with the pan-seared foie gras. The arepa was like a hurried addition to make it more Latin. Another person did good damage to her tenderloin, but left all the mushrooms untouched. The Ecuadorian seafood stew, I heard, wasn’t worth the $24 price.

At least the unlisted Malbec bottle the sommelier offered us for under $60 kept the group happy enough to fork over their hundred dollars. Nice try, Rayuela, but I think I’m okay with arroz con pollo that’s not $22.

Related post/s:
Crave Ceviche Bar has some expensive selections but better
Chef Alex Ureña learned his lesson and reopened as Pamplona

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Sichuan Chicken

Aug 18, ’08

Sometimes, the best part of leaving filthy New York City is coming home to it. A day after I returned, I picked up my latest farmer’s share and got back in the groove of cooking again. In the Philippines, all the food we ate was done for us whether it was from a restaurant, from a street vendor or from one of my many relatives who cooked us a meal. When I picked up my share of scallions and green peppers, I thought of a stir-fry dish that would be easy to make for my first dinner back.

I was eating a lot of pork while I was in the Philippines so it wasn’t weird when I wanted to eat something with chicken. I had already gotten the sushi out of the way my first night back–my way of cleansing my system after returning from a vacation–and a quick toss of greens with breast fillets was a no-brainer as a next step towards getting back to my routine.

I marinated the chicken here overnight, but you can certainly spend less time and just marinate while you chop the rest of the ingredients. I also skipped the peanuts and used sherry vinegar instead of Chinese vinegar for the sauce and that’s why my version is paler than the traditional one. You can use balsamic vinegar as well to get that dark color.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, without skin, sliced in smaller pieces
1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
4 scallions, white parts only, chopped
4 garlic cloves
a small knob of ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
3 Thai chiles, seeded
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
a handful of roasted unsalted peanuts (optional)
peanut oil

For the marinade:
2 tbsps light soy sauce
2 tbsps rice wine
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 tbsp water
salt

For the sauce:
3 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsps sherry vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water

1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a large container with the chicken pieces. Mix well and set aside in the fridge until ready to cook.
2. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a large skillet, add some peanut oil and heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until they are crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Try not to burn them.
4. Add the chicken and the bell pepper and fry over a high flame, stirring constantly. As soon as the chicken pieces have separated, add the ginger, garlic, and scallions and continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and white. Feel free to drizzle some more peanut oil to add some moisture.
5. Give the sauce a stir and add it to the skillet, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and shiny, add the peanuts, if using and stir them in.

Related post/s:
Smoked tofu and celery salad recipe to match
Sweat your aSs off at Spicy & Tasty

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The Mermaid Inn

Aug 13, ’08

568 Amsterdam Avenue between 87th and 88th Streets
212/799.7400
about $70 for two, with two beers, with tip
♥

I’ve never been big on moderation and that’s why a lot of the time, I find myself eating and drinking too much and paying way more than I can afford. At The Mermaid Inn, the Dr. pushed on the brakes and ordered for both of us while I went to the restroom. He ordered just enough food to keep me happy and full. The half a dozen oysters were from Washington: briny and just delicious. He’s a bigger fan of littleneck clams than I am so I let him finish five out of the other half dozen.

If I called the shots, I would have ordered a whole roasted fish after the oysters and the littleneck clams that we started with. Instead, we split a bowl of steamed mussels. It hit the spot and our waiter accommodated our request for some extra toasted bread to sop up the leftover aromatic broth.

Sometimes, you just want a no-frills dinner in the city. At the new branch of the Mermaid Inn, we got just that.

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Bar Boulud

Aug 6, ’08

1900 Broadway between 63rd and 64th Streets
212/595.3034
about $60 each for two, with drinks, with tip
♥

The first time we tried to eat at Bar Boulud, we chose to sit outside with the theater crowd. We were looking at the menu when the heavy wind hit, taking fragile wine glasses with it, shaking the awning violently and scaring the diners enough to make them run inside and to the basement. When it was time for a second visit, I sat at the bar where one of the servers excused himself more than once to use the ham slicer. He heeded my joke about giving me a plate of the jambon for the inconvenience.

The Thomas Schlesser-designed space is stunning. The long vaulted ceiling reminds you of an old wine cellar as soon as you walk in. Even if the restaurant is full–and even if your purse gets bumped into by the runners multiple times–you still get a feeling of some intimacy and warmth.

I can’t resist a duck leg confit whenever I’m eating bistro food, so two of us split that after a serving of pea soup with mint crème fraîche and escargots with potato croquettes. The summer beans were a little too chewy for my taste and I wanted the duck meat to give more easily than it did. I can recall better duck confit at Balthazar.

One of the dessert specials involved blackberries and blueberries so it seemed like the best choice for a summery and tart end to our night. I’m no expert on sweets but I had no clue why whatever came out was chewy and candied. It looked unappetizing. We picked the berries and left the pie barely touched.

I still remember my experience at Daniel six years ago. It was my first foray into fine dining. The food was something I’ve only read in books and seen in photographs. The bill was the first time my heart skipped a beat inside a restaurant. Though I knew that Bar Boulud would be more casual, I still had high expectations of the food. It wasn’t quite what I expected Chef Boulud would put out and approve of.

Related post/s:
I was young then, at Daniel
You’d feel better at Dovetail if you’re in the upper west side

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