Menchanko-tei

Baby its cold outside, and when Mr Freeze threatens, I cannot think of a better respite than a bowl of hot steaming ramen. In midtown Manhattan the best bowl of ramen can be had at Menchanko-tei. Menchanko-tei has been in business for a long time, catering to a mostly Japanese clientele. The noodles are made fresh daily, in three degrees of thickness, from their original recipe. Two varieties of broth are featured, pork based and soy based. Both are slow cooked and are light enough to let the ingredients shine through.

While the menu is quite varied, my first choice is always the hakata ramen. This soup is the perfect example of less is more, the Haydn string quartet of ramen. Into the pork broth are placed the perfectly cooked al dente, ultra thin ramen noodles. They have a slight spring to them, not at all soggy, mushy, or too chewy. These are then topped with flavorful, marinated and slow roasted pork slices, black mushrooms, red ginger and scallions. It is a good size portion for a very fair price of $8.50.

The other variety of soup served is Menchanko (Men=noodles, Chanko=sumo wrestlers stew). Individually cooked and served in a large cast iron bowl (nabe) these soups, or stews, feature soy based broth with thick ramen noodles to which various protein, which might include chicken, head on shrimp, fish balls, tofu, rice cake and vegetables are added. This is a filling meal, as the bowls are quite large.

The other speciality at Menchanko-tei is Oden which dates from the Edo period. Oden is quite hard to find in New York and normally consists of seafood and or vegetables, individually simmered in a kelp based stock. They are generally ordered individually, a few at a time, or left up to the house to decide on 4 or 5, and served with a dab of japanese mustard to enhance the taste of the vegetables, which are fairly plain on their own.

A selection of sake, japanese beer and traditional roasted green tea are available.

Menchanko-tei
43-45 West 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
(between 5th and 6th Avenues)
212 247 1585
Monday-Thursday 11:30-11:30
Friday until 12:30am
Saturday and Sunday until midnight

and

131 East 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
(between Lexington and 3rd Avenues)
Monday-Thursday 11:30-11:30
Friday until midnight
Saturday until 11:00
Sunday until 10:30

Taim falafel and smoothie bar

Taim, which means tasty in Hebrew, opened a few years ago on a quiet back street in the West Village. Owned by Israeli chef Einat Admony and her French husband, Stefan Nafziger, it serves what is consistently the best falafel in New York. This pita sized storefront on Waverly has a few stools and a couple of benches outside to be used during the milder weather.

The falafel are crisp on the exterior and moist inside. They are expertly fried to order in canola oil and come in three flavors (green, harissa and red pepper), but I would highly suggest sticking to the traditional, or green (chickpea, parsley, cilantro and mint). You can get your falafel in a sandwich of warm, super fresh, white or whole wheat pita, or on a platter. The platter is served with israeli salad, tabouli, and hummus with three sauces (s'rug, amba and tahini) and your choice of pita with toasted zahatar spices (an ancient arabic spice mix made traditionally of several sun dried herbs, such as thyme, oregano and marjoram ground with sesame seeds and salt). The sandwich includes hummus, israeli salad, marinated cabbage and tahini sauce. My favorite way to order the sandwich is green on whole wheat with everything, which includes yemini hot sauce (s'rug), amba (fenugreek and pickled mango sauce) and house made pickle slices.

The thing that sets Taim apart is the freshness of every ingredient. The s'rug, made with thai red and jalapeno peppers, cilantro, garlic and oil, is quite hot, while the amba has a nice cool refreshing effect and the pickles add a nice crunch. The result, like a composition of the great Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, is a beautiful layering of texture, color and flavor.

Taim has several fruit smoothies, house made lemonades and iced teas for cold drinks. Mint tea and house made Indian chai are available as hot drink options.

Taim
222 Waverly Place at 7th Ave
New York, NY 10014-2404
(212) 691-1287
Open 11:00am-10:00pm everyday
Cash Only

Camino, Oakland California

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of dining with my good friend The Corkdork at one of the best new restaurants in the Bay Area. The name is Camino, the location Oakland. Oakland is the Bay Area's version of Brooklyn, where cheaper rents, a young, hip, and appreciative audience, have spurred the opening of excellent food establishments over the last 10 years.

Camino is owned and operated by husband and wife team chef Russel Moore and general manager Allison Hopelain. They present a small menu which changes daily, is concise and extremely locavore centric. Rustic Mediterranean cooking at its best, all done in an open wood burning hearth, it is a sight to see, smell and taste. There were six appetizer choices including several composed salads and a soup, three mains including one vegetarian option of wood oven-roasted chanterelles with belgian endive gratin and green beans, four desserts, and a fiscalini cheddar cheese on that Sunday's dinner menu. We started with fresh local ling cod fritters. Crisp and crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside, they were accompanied by a lively chervil and radish salad dressed lightly with lemon and high quality fleur de sel (french sea salt). The fritters were the perfect hors d'oeuvres to begin the festivities, and gave us a chance to get into our first wine of the evening, the stunning 1998 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne courtesy of The Corkdork. This organic wine from high on the Hill of Corton was really in a sweet spot. Incredibly complex, with great verve, minerality, toasty bread (yeast) and flowery fruit. You should be able to find this wine for around $90 retail, and while expensive, it is one of the few white burgundies worth searching for, especially for a special dinner.

We moved on to wild nettle soup, and the pork and greens crepinette with arugula salad. The puree of nettles was a vibrant green, fresh and bracing with a dollop of creme fraiche to offset the acidity. A crepinette is a loose sausage patty, in this case of pork and a few greens for color, wrapped in caul fat and sauteed or grilled. This version could not have been more flavorful and moist. The richness of the pork was perfectly offset by the super fresh peppery arugula salad, again dressed with lemon and fleur de sel.

Although we had ordered a bar snack of locally foraged porcini mushroom toasts early on, a misfire on the server's part only brought them to table after the appetizers. Making up for the mistake, we were served two orders! A nice gesture and a most welcome touch. The superb mushrooms were simply served on toasted baguette with a little persillade (parsley and garlic chopped together). My only complaint here was that the mushrooms had been cooked previously and were served a bit cold. Having said that, they were still very tasty indeed.

Since upon walking in to the restaurant we could see the open wood burning hearth and the lamb leg rotating in front of the embers, we could not resist the lamb lamb leg a la ficelle, grilled loin chop and braised shoulder with peppers and polenta. The roasted peppers added the correct acidity, the lamb was cooked perfectly in all three of its guises and the long, slow cooked polenta rustica was creamy and earthy. This polenta from Anson Mills is made from Otto File organic heirloom corn and is absolutely the best quality. To accompany the lamb The Corkdork was kind enough to bring another stunning wine. This time we ventured to the Northern Rhone for a 100% Syrah. Located high on the hills to the west of the Rhone river, around the small city of Tournon and directly across from the famous Hermitage Hill, this 2006 Saint Joseph from Stephane Otheguy was an extremely good match for the lamb. Very earthy, full of minerals, black pepper and purple fruits it is, along with Domaine Gonon and Domaine de Miquettes, one of the finest Saint Josephs I have had the pleasure of drinking recently.

For dessert I had the chocolate pudding which was a rich and thick classic, made from a high quality dark chocolate from Tcho chocolates in San Francisco.

The organic/bio dynamic wine list features eleven whites and ten reds, all fairly priced and well suited to the cooking. Corkage is a very fair $15 per bottle.

Camino
3917 Grand Ave
Oakland, CA 94610
510 547 5035
Dinner: Friday and Saturday 5:30pm - 10:30pm, Sunday 5pm - 10pm
Monday, Wednesday, & Thursday 5:30 - 10pm (closed Tuesday)
Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 10am - 2pm

Nopalito

I will admit straight away that the Bay Area is my favorite place to eat in the USA! I know, I know, I am a new yorker, so what about New York!? Of course New York has some great places to eat, but the Bay Area has a much longer growing season, a greater emphasis on incredible fresh, local ingredients, and the cooking is lighter and cleaner, allowing the flavors of the ingredients to really shine. I like to make the comparison of Bruckner (New York) and Mozart (San Francisco/Bay Area). Bruckner, while exciting, can be loud and bombastic, where Mozart is clean, elegant, and light on its feet.

On a recent trip I went straight from SFO to Nopalito for lunch. This is the second restaurant from the folks who own the very popular Nopa. While Nopa is firmly rooted in the Chez Panisse camp, specializing in organic wood fired "american" cuisine, Nopalito is Mexican with an emphasis on rustic, earthy and bold flavors, cooked by two Mexican chefs from Nopa. Both restaurants use organic, local and sustainable ingredients in their cooking.

To begin, every table receives a little cup of fried and spiced chickpeas. They are addictive and disappear before you know it. We shared several dishes from the lunch menu including the delicious moist tamals, served traditionally in a corn husk. The tamals are made with house made masa from stone ground organic corn. This is a time consuming process, but the results are well worth it. The stewed pork, queso fresco (fresh cheese), chile ancho, chile cascabel and guacamole tamal was packed with flavorful meat. The chiles provided an earthy, deep, ever so slightly spicy accent which balanced well with the moderately salty cheese and cool fresh guacamole.The second tamal was listed as dulce (sweet) and while it was certainly sweeter than the pork tamal, it was not overly sweet. It was made with kabocha and butternut squash, pecans, currants, piloncillo (an unrefined mexican brown sugar) and crema. The nuts added crunch and the buttery squash melded well with the luxurious, soft corn. Both were some the best tamales I have eaten.

Next we shared the Huevos de Caja, poached eggs on corn tortillas with refried beans and a salsa of cilantro and jack cheese. This was a simple but well prepared dish. The house made tortillas added an earthy corn flavor, the eggs were beautifully poached and the delicious beans from Rancho Gordo were smokey and flavorful. The last dish was the blue corn quesadilla with braised greens, poblanos, jack cheese, queso fresco and salsa poblana mulata (salsa of poblano and mulato chile). It was beautifully earthy, and rustic, mostly owing to the hand ground blue corn tortilla.

All the meals here end here with complimentary mexican wedding cookies. These small traditional cookies are made with ground almonds and are in the shape of a dome. The most enticing beverages are the refreshing aguas frescas made with fresh fruit, and the organic almond horchta, a traditional drink made from crushed almonds and rice which are steeped in water, along with sugar and cinnamon. If you prefer to cool the heat with alcohol, several mexican and domestic beers are available on tap and in bottle.

Nopalito
306 Broderick St
San Francisco, CA 94117
415-437-0303
info@nopalitosf.com
Hours: 11:30 am to 10 pm, seven days a week
No reservations

A Profound Wine

The police could be on their way to throw me in the hoosegow! I admit that last night I committed infanticide. In wine speak, infanticide is when one drinks a wine that is too young, or not fully mature. Strangely enough the wine in question was not young at all, but from the 1996 vintage! How could a wine old enough for bar mitzvah be too young!!??

This lovely liquidity in red was the 1996 Giacomo Conterno Cascina Francia Barolo, provided thanks to wine director Rachel from the cellar at the now closed Etas Unis restaurant on New York's upper east side. The wine was brought to table directly from the cellar and was decanted. In a word, it was profound. It is fascinating to follow a wine over several hours as it warms up from cellar temperature to room temperature, when all the wine has to offer is released over time. In this case though, all was not revealed, even after three hours, because the wine has only reached an early stage of what will eventually be an incredible evolution.

The house of Giacomo Conterno which is located in Monforte is one of the legends of the Barolo zone in the Piedmont region of Italy. Now run by Roberto Conterno, the wines continue to be made in the style that is known as traditional. There are only 2 Barolo (Cascina Francia and Monfortino) made at this estate, both from the Cascina Francia vineyard in the commune of Serralunga. The wines from Serralunga tend to be brawny and masculine, full of tannins and great acid backbones which allow the wines to be very long lived.

The 1996 Cascina Francia had an exotic spice box nose right off the bat, but it was more like bunting than swinging for the fences. After thirty minutes of air the wine starting teasing with its many facets, which will no doubt be revealed in another 10 years. Rose, violet, road tar, forest floor, truffle (somewhere between white and black), mineral and a beautiful earthiness were all present. The aromas weaved in and out and made you want to come back for another sniff. The palate was full and at the same time light as a cotton candy. The acidity was mouthwatering, and the wine made an excellent pairing with my venison. This was clearly one of those rare, three dimensional wines, that wine makers strive for but only rarely achieve. A wine of meditation to be sure.

The Bent Spoon artisan ice cream and good ingredient bakery

Ice Cream has always been an important part of my life. Of course I consume more in the warm summer months, but I would never say no to a good ice cream no matter the weather. A sighting of The Bent Spoon at the October New Amsterdam Market at the old Fulton Fish Market site prompted a visit to Princeton. In the time it takes to fly to Miami all I got was a lousy ice cream cone you say? On the contrary, I got to see my younger sister and one of my beautiful nephews, and also had the great pleasure of delicious artisan ice cream!

Although I have been to The Bent Spoon on many occasions, this time I was on the hunt for the pumpkin mascarpone ice cream with cacao nibs which I had sadly missed at the market. All the ice cream, which is a hybrid of french custard (eggs yolks are used) and gelato, is made from mostly organic ingredients and all hormone free dairy which is procured at local farms.

I had a cup of the above mentioned pumpkin mascarpone (served this day without the cacao nibs), double dark chocolate, and NJ honey. The ice cream has a very smooth consistency and leaves a pleasant feel in your mouth. Many ice creams are over churned, and can leave an unpleasant residue in your mouth, but not so here. The ice creams were all very creamy with bold flavors. The honey was pronounced but not too sweet. the chocolate was dark and intense, and the pumpkin had flavors of pumpkin pie spices which played well together like a good string quartet, each spice balancing its partner in intensity.

Well worth the trip to Princeton! The Bent Spoon will be back at the New Amsterdam Market this Sunday, November 22, 2009!

The Bent Spoon
35 Palmer Sq W
Princeton, NJ 08542-3711
(609) 924-2368
thebentspoon@verizon.net
Email for questions and hours of operation

Diner

Although I am a Manhattanite, I find myself migrating more and more towards Brooklyn for many things culinary. Brooklyn has a lot going for it. Young, unafraid pioneers, cheaper rents and a hip, captive audience. Diner in Williamsburg is a pioneer, having opened their doors almost 11 years ago. To this day the joint is jumpin with youngish hipsters who line up to dine on sustainable, local, well prepared food in a cool funky atmosphere.

The restaurant is housed in an 1920's Kullman diner. It shows its age and at the same time shows that it is ageless. It is a quite dark and somewhat cramped space, especially if you sit in one of the booths up front. People must have been a lot skinnier in the roaring 20's! Probably all that dancing!!

The food is strictly of the 21st century, that is, sustainable, local and often organic. The wine list changes often and has some cool progressive wine makers represented. Currently, many are naturally made wines from the Loire Valley and some delicious Gamay, especially the La Souteronne from Herve Souhaut in the Ardeche department of France. Souhaut's Gamay is made from 60-80 year old vines planted in Granite soils. There is no new wood used and very little sulphur added. In other words it is made as naturally as possibly. It has a great smoky quality which one would typically associate with Syrah being made in the Ardeche, but it also has the great earthy fruit tones and minerality that one would associate with the best Cru Beaujolais. An interesting mix and an excellent food wine.

We started by sharing a salad of Spinach, shaved Apple and Radish Salad with Caraway Vinaigrette, the Grilled Flatbread w Quince Paste, Prosciutto, Shallots and Fontina, and the Parmesan Broth with Poached Egg, Bitter Greens, Crushed Fingerling Potato's and Croutons. All three were excellent. The salad was super fresh and the vinaigrette had the perfect balance of salt, acidity and oil. The ingredients on the flatbread played well off each other, the Prosciutto adding a slight salty element which melded with the slightly sweet/sour of the Quince paste, the deep sweetness of the Caramelized Shallot all tied together with the nutty Fontina. The soup was a nice combination of light Parmesan Broth with the crispy rustic croutons, greens, and potato's adding a lovely texture and flavor.

As a mid course the three of us shared Risotto with Broccoli, house-made Italian Sausage, Fontina and Parmesan. The meatiness of the sausage melded well with the broccoli. The rice was cooked just beyond al dente and the texture was creamy. Grated parmesan tied the dish together well, adding a bit of salt and acidity to the creamy rice.

For the main courses we shared 1/2 Roasted Chicken with Brown Buttered Napa Cabbage and a Caraway Sherry Vinaigrette. The chicken was cut into thigh, leg and breast, all moist meat and crisp skin. The accompaniments were very flavorful and a great foil for the chicken. We also ordered the Burger which is one the best burgers in New York. The meat is very tender and extremely flavorful, the fries perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It probably helps that Diner also owns a fantastic butcher shop down the street called Marlow and Daughters. The butcher shop provides sustainable meat and poultry, mostly from local farms, for the groups two current restaurants, Diner and Marlow and Sons, which is next door.

The three desserts were all excellent. The Flourless Chocolate Cake is a staple on the menu. The cake is served room temperature with whipped cream. It is deceptively simple but to my mind the perfect chocolate cake. Very light, almost flaky and rich with the flavor of what seems like a high quality circa 70% chocolate. We also very much enjoyed a Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Buttercream and Candied Pepitas. The cake was light, moist and the buttercream was not very sweet or at all cloying. Apple and Persimmon Tatin was also a standout. Beautiful light pastry, excellent fruit flavor and great caramelization.

Diner
85 Broadway Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: (718) 486-3077
Subways: JMZ to Marcy or L to Bedford
Open Daily 11am until 2am
Lunch Mon - Fri 11am - 5pm
Brunch Sat & Sun 11am - 4pm
Dinner Sun- Thrs 6pm - 12am
Dinner Fri & Sat 6pm - 1am
Owners: Mark Firth & Andrew Tarlow
Executive Chef: Sean Rembold
No reservations

num pang sandwich shop

A funny thing happened on the way to Brooklyn. The connection between my stomach and my brain sucked me out of the Q train at Union Square. Once above ground I made a bee line for a Cambodian Style sandwich at Num Pang. The bahn mi sized shop whose name means Bread or Sandwich in Khmer, is owned by Ratha Chau of Kampuchea Restaurant on the lower east side and his college friend Ben Daitz.

The menu is divided into two main sections of six Classic Sandwiches and five Special Sandwiches ranging in price from $7.25 to $8.75 (one vegetarian option is offered daily). I must say it was a very tough choice, but in the end I decided on one of the specials, Ginger Barbeque Brisket with Pickled Red Cabbage for $7.50. I took my sandwich up the circular staircase to a small room with 8 stools and a counter over looking an indoor parking garage, and a bench that can seat 4 with a counter overlooking 12th street. A cool funky space indeed!

The sandwich was the perfect balance of tender brisket with the right amount of fat, crunchy bread, perfect creaminess and heat from the chili mayo all tied together with the subtle flavor of cilantro wrapped in a whisp of ginger. It is definitely a three napkin sandwich.

All the sandwiches are served with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro and chili mayo on Parisi Bakery bread. Incidentally, Parisi has been baking bread in a wood fired oven, with only natural ingredients for 106 years!

num pang
sandwich shop
is open
Monday – Saturday
11am to 10pm
Sunday
12pm to 9pm

Address
21 East 12th St
between 5th Ave and University

phone: 212.255.3271
Cash Only!
Mostly take away, with seating up stairs for 12

Luke's Lobsta Mobsta and Mary's Fish Camp

The Lobsta Roll wars have heated up of late with the addition of Luke's . Lukes, owned by father and son Jeff and Luke Holden, and run by GM Ben Conniff, is the new claw in town. Mary's Fish Camp is the old pro. The styles are very different but they are both making some of best Lobster Rolls I have experienced.

At Luke's the Maine lobster is brought from the dock to Jeff's Portland Shellfish. There, the claws are steamed, packed in individual 4 oz servings and shipped the 315 miles to Luke's in the East Village where they end up unadorned on a simple buttered bun. The taste is very fresh, pure lobster. The stand alone roll (4 ounces) is currently $14. Luke's is giving a portion of their profits to the Maine Lobstermen's Association. This seems like a sustainable way of doing business and I applaud Luke's for that. You can also get a Lobsta Mobsta Card which gives you one free Lobster Roll for every ten that you buy. Luke's is basically take away with a few stools for dining in.

If Luke's is the Prius of Lobster Rolls then Mary's Fish Camp is the Bentley. The beautifully buttered brioche buns are overflowing with large, luxurious chunks of perfectly cooked lobster with house made mayo, chives and what seems to be a tiny bit of celery. The balance is perfect, the flavor incredibly satisfying and rich, and the shoestring fries are the perfect accompaniment. Squeeze a tiny bit of lemon on your roll and add some malt vinegar to your fries and you will be a very happy camper! The rolls, which i expect have closer to 8 ounces of Lobster are currently priced at $25, including the fries.

In addition to the Lobster Roll ($25) we had 2 starters. Flash Fried Silver Hake with Sunflower Sprouts and Cilantro Vinaigrette for $10 and Peekytoe Crab Beignets with Key Lime Aioli for $12. Whoever is working the fryer at Mary's should be well paid. They are doing the job very well. Both the fish and the beignets were perfectly cooked, crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. I could have used a bit more crab in the beignets but it was a minor point and the balance was great with the Key Lime Aioli. Mary's is sit down, eat in, casual restaurant. They have a nice counter which looks onto the kitchen and has about 8 seats. It also has somewhat cramped table seating for about 16 and is first come first served.

Luke's
93 East 7th Street NY, NY 10009
212.387.8487
Hours:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - 11 am - Midnight
Thursday, Friday and Saturday - 11 am - 1 am


Mary's Fish Camp
64 Charles Street at the Corner of 4th Street, New York, NY 10014 tel: 646.486.2185
Hours: Monday-Saturday 12-3 and 6-11, Closed on Sunday
Beer and Wine are available. No reservations

Saltie / Williamsburg Brooklyn

Saltie is a new sandwich shop which opened three weeks ago today. It is owned and run by Caroline Fidanza (Cheffie), former executive chef at Diner and Marlow and Sons . I did not ask Caroline why she left the King Luke (Diner/Marlow) group, but she looked happy. Maybe she looked happy because it was her birthday! Saltie is essentially a take out place but they do have a counter looking onto Metropolitan and running along one wall with very uncomfortable stools. My advice, stand while you are eating. In the time it takes you to gobble down one of the delicious sandwiches, your legs will not get tired. Speaking of eating, the getting is good here and no surprise.

The bread is made in house, the organic vegetables come from Guy Jones at Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove NY, about 60 miles from Manhattan and the dairy comes from a Cooperative in PA. Saltie has about 8 sandwich options which are posted. The sandwiches are described on handwritten menus at the front counter where you also place your order.

I had the Ships Biscuit for $6. It is fresh ricotta spread on Focaccia and topped/mixed with scrambled egg. A lovely breakfast, or in this case lunch sandwich. I tried at first to pick the sandwich up, but the ingredients slid off the bread. Then I dug in the grown up way, with a knife and fork! The balance was perfect, just the right amount of salt on the focaccia, cool ricotta and the hot egg.

I followed with a lovely apple tart with Saltie caramel ice cream. Again the balance was perfect. The tart crust was flaky and light, and not at all sweet and the local apples were very tasty. The ice cream was well churned, creamy and had a nice deep flavor. It was a nice foil for the tart indeed.

I am looking forward to trying some of the other sandwiches, some of the specials, like soups and salads and I definitely want to try some more of the ice creams!

Saltie is open Tuesday-Sunday 8-8 and is closed on Mondays
378 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn 11211
(At Havemeyer St)
Phone: (718) 387-4777