Author: cia

Hello, Roatan, Honduras

We woke up early to catch our Atlanta flight that connected us to San Pedro Sula in Honduras. We spent a lot of time waiting at the airport before we boarded the flight to La Ceiba and then to our final destination, Roatan. The sun was setting when Omar picked us up. As soon as we checked in at Bananarama Dive Resort, we took a walk to check out the scene.

We were spent, but the sunset made it all worth it. The island was deserted–we later found out that there was a national football match going on and that’s why none of the Hondurans could be bothered. We felt like we had the beach to ourselves. When darkness enveloped us, we began our search for our first Honduran meal.

We started with the conch soup at Foster’s. We also ordered rice and beans with a fried red snapper. We’ve tried the Barena beer at the airport, so we ordered the Salva Vida this time. I read that one company owns all the Honduran breweries, so all the beers basically tasted the same. We sat in one of the palapas on the beach, away from the restaurant, to eat our dinner. The warm wind was blowing, the stars were out and all we could hear beyond the darkness were the waves crashing. Automatically, we switched to our don’t-care-about-anything-else-right-now mode.

Hello, Honduras.

Related post/s:
Roatan, Honduras photos on Flickr

Sugar Snap Peas and Portobello Mushroom Salad

Adapted from a delicious. magazine recipe using shiitake

Ingredients:
3 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stalks trimmed
1 small bag of sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
4 tbsps rice vinegar
2 tbsps soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Whisk all the liquid together with the sugar and chili. Brush mushrooms with dressing and bake for about 10 minutes, turning once. Slice into small pieces when cool.
2. Toss with the snap peas and sprinkle with remaining dressing.

Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar

239 East 5th Street off 2nd Avenue
212/979.1012
$130 for two, with two drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥

The latest from the Jack and Grace Lamb empire, Degustation is the replacement for Jewel Bako’s robato grill next door. They kept the same layout: an open kitchen where you can sit at the bar and watch everything unfold as you wait for your food. This time around, polite Latino chefs show their skills behind the counter instead of the more familiar Asian chefs along Second Avenue.

Head chef Wesley Genovart, fresh from Perry St., is twenty-six years old and looks it, too, but he’s adventurous enough to fry artichokes with Kumamoto oyster in mussel broth and celery leaves. He’s smart enough to recognize that a slowly poached egg can be served with Serrano ham in chicken broth and, bless his heart, stuff a squid with braised short ribs and serve it with lentils.

The lamb was perfectly grilled with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and served with a sauce simply called “chlorophyll” which was, you guessed it, green in color. The pork belly is so crisp, the fat just screams Eat Me as soon as the plate arrives in front of you. The grapefruit in caramel water was the perfect complement to the seared foie gras and the lemon juice went well with the grilled jumbo shrimps. To end our night out, one of the chefs grilled strawberries and served it with ginger granita and basil and mint sauce. My only regret was not ordering this in between our seafood and meat courses to cleanse our palate.

Our 8pm reservation was easy to get, but we ended up waiting for forty minutes at the door to be seated. The staff never forgot us and served us complementary glasses (two each!) of champagne while we waited. A croquet amuse started us off and they still kept us in mind after six dishes and served us a wild arugula salad with ham and almonds to show their appreciation for our patience.

For a minute, I forgot that we were in New York City because of the exceptional service but, really, where else can I get this much good food for under a hundred dollars?

Peter Luger

178 Broadway, right under the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn
718/387-7400
about $400 for four, with a bottle of wine, with tip, cash only
♥ ♥ ♥

Most New Yorkers will think of Peter Luger when porterhouse is the topic of conversation. How could we not when it’s been around since, oh, 1887. Even our cab driver knew where Peter Luger was. You mean the boo-jee steak place? when we only mentioned the steakhouse by the Williamsburg Bridge.

Since some of us have eaten here before, we knew to split the porterhouse for two between four people because we ordered the fresh bacon, two salads and creamed spinach with our meat. Our waiter was obviously disappointed when we refused the steak for four but lit up when we ordered the 2002 Cakebread with it.

We were a bit dismayed when our waiter brought a 2003 bottle and told us that he had run out of the 2002. Good thing my friend was aware of the fact that the 2003 harvest wasn’t worth the 2002 price. When we tried to order a less expensive bottle instead, our waiter returned with the 2002 and told us he just “found it” in the cellar. He was this close to opening that 2003 bottle and charging us the 2002 price! Tsk to Peter Luger! It pays to know something about your wines.

ChikaLicious and ChikaLicious Puddin’

203 East 10th Street off Second Avenue
212/995.9511
$104 for four, desserts only with matching drinks, with tip
♥ ♥

If you have room for dessert, Chika will whip up one of the most simple yet satisfying desserts for you at ChikaLicious, a tiny space on 10th Street. Assuming, of course, that they haven’t sold out by 11pm or that you’re not waiting to be seated for more than 20 minutes.

The prix fixe is only $19 and includes an amuse, a main dessert, petit fours and a glass of wine. Your choices for main desserts run from the creative, like kiwi in lavender soup, to the surprising, like peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce with warm chocolate tart.

Update, 2008: They have opened ChikaLicious Puddin’ across the street that serves three kinds–at least when we visited–of “puddin'”. Light, fluffy and sweet, their puddings are the perfect end to a blistery winter night.