Author: cia

Grand Sichuan International

229 Ninth Avenue at 24th Street
212/620.5200
about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

New York City has some great selection of Chinese food. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include Sichuan, the spicy kind. When I crave the flavor of numbing Sichuan peppers, I go to Grand Sichuan International in Chelsea. They have a few branches in the city, but I frequent the one in Chelsea. No matter what time you visit, it’s always crowded. The service is inconsistent, but their kung pao chicken is always right and the dan dan noodles always spicy.

It ain’t Monterey Park outside of Los Angeles, but it will have to do.

My Befana

116 West Houston Street between Thompson and Sullivan
888.6.BEFANA
about $50 for two, without drinks, without tip

Set-up like a deli, only more classy with beautiful tilework on the floor, “la befana” is the Italian version of Santa Claus. What we know as the feast of the Three Kings is celebrated by Italians with good food to close out the Christmas season. How do they know how to do everything right?


Immaculate counters

Chef Daniele Baliani opened My Befana as a nod to his childhood in Italy after successfully establishing Pantheon Adventures, a tour company which leads small groups throughout the Mediterranean in search of gastronomic and cultural delights. Now he’s in a spotless space on West Houston serving pork chops with cranberries, flank steak with caramelized shallots, duck with soy, ginger and honey sauce and lamb in tzatziki sauce.


Tuna sandwich


Broccoli rabe

Lunch is a steep $12 for an entree and one side. Dinner is a better deal for $18 for an entree with two sides. If you are too busy to make it to their SoHo space, you can call the 888 number and get their Mediterranean food delivered to your apartment, your office or the gym. If I could eat stuffed grape leaves everyday, I would.

Hurricane Hopeful Surf Bar

139 North 6th Street between Bedford Avenue and Berry, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718/302.4441
about $50 for two, without drinks, without tip

Brought to my attention by that stand-off with Bobby Flay, the Hurricane Hopeful Surf Bar claims to have the best clam chowder in New York City. It was ninety degrees but that didn’t stop us from tasting and judging them for ourselves. We ordered the crab and corn chowder and the popular haddock chowder for about $6 each.


Corn and crab chow-dah

Now, I don’t really know anything about chowder. I’ve had several during multiple visits to Maine and Boston and I’ve tasted them watery like broth and thick like bisque–I just don’t know what proper chowder is like.

At Hurricane Hopeful Surf Bar, my ignorance didn’t matter because they are all really good. The consistency is in the middle and I liked them that way. But skip the other items on the menu when you go. The conch fritters were mostly made of batter. The red snapper ceviche was very watery and tasted of sweet orange juice.


Soupy ceviche

The space looks miniscule from outside but it extends all the way at the back to an outdoor garden decorated with small paper lanterns. The sand on the floor takes you as far away as, well, some beach in the Northeast but the service is exceptional. For a busy Saturday night, our waiter treated us like real ladies, making sure we were okay with everything during that one balmy summer night.

Angel-Hair Pasta with Summer Vegetables

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

angel-hair pasta
3 large vine-ripe tomatoes
a handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tbsps lemon juice
fresh basil chiffonade
3 small squash, cut in smaller pieces
a handful of haricots verts, trimmed
a handful of sugar snap peas, trimmed
salt and pepper

1. Using a mortar and pestle, crush garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste. Set aside.
2. Cook beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for less than 4 minutes. Shock in iced cold water to stop cooking. Drain.
3. In another pot of boiling salt water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
4. In a large bowl, grate tomatoes using the grater’s largest holes, discarding the skin. Toss pulp with grape tomatoes, garlic paste, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add the vegetables and the pasta and toss some more to combine. Sprinkle with basil.

Naeng Myun, Korean Noodles in Cold Broth

Adapted from a Korean calendar photo

Ingredients:
half a pound of London broil, rinsed
1 package of buckwheat noodles
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, cut in half
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced thinly
1 small daikon radish, sliced thinly
a few slices of pickled radish or cucumber (from a Korean store)
a few slices of Asian pear
4 tbsps rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
chili powder
salt and pepper

1. In a large stock pot, add London broil, garlic, shallots and salt and pepper with enough water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, or until meat is cooked through, occasionally skimming foam and fat.
2. Strain the broth into a large container, discarding solids. Add half of the rice vinegar, half of the sugar and salt to taste. Place the seasoned broth in refrigerator to chill.
3. Meanwhile, cook buckwheat noodles in boiling water until tender, about 12 minutes. Rinse with cold water several times, gently squeezing the noodles each time to make them chewy. Drain.
4. Soak the radish with the rest of the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Let stand for a few minutes then drain. Toss and sprinkle red pepper powder and drizzle with sesame oil.
5. When ready to serve, place about a handful of noodles in a soup bowl. Top noodles with meat slices, radish, cucumber, pears and egg. Ladle cold broth. Serve with kimchi and roasted seaweed.