Philly Cheese Steak Dumplings w/ sriracha ketchup
by Celia Cheng
June 30th, 2008
FIRESIDE
19 E 52nd St
@ Madison Ave
212-734-5011
Fireside, located in the Omni Berkshire Hotel in Midtown, is an unexpectedly good restaurant. You could easily mistake it for an unremarkable hotel restaurant, the kind that serves less than mediocre food but must be there for the hotel guests. That’s not the case here though. Chef Sam DeMarco is at the head of this kitchen, and his cuisine is outstanding and fun!
In his own words, he doesn’t really try to be innovative, but incorporates items in his menu that evoke nostalgia. Not innovative? I beg to differ. Philly cheese steak dumplings are innovative, but I understand what he means by nostalgic. He blends the best of both worlds.
Who doesn’t love a good Philly cheese steak? But he’s reconfigured it so that all the components — thinly sliced Rib eye, grilled onions, button mushrooms and American cheese — are wrapped in dumpling skins and then fried like pot stickers. There are five to an order, served with sriracha ketchup — what a great condiment for this masterpiece — to add a little spice. Hot pepperconi peppers as garnish also bring us back to the traditional Philly cheese steak toppings.
I agree with Chef DeMarco that he’s not trying to make fusion cuisine. He doesn’t force the elements together, but simply makes a whimsical change to the classic sandwich. Dumpling skin is a fine substitute for bread in this case. And these are much more elegant and manageable with Fireside’s playful cocktails.
I also tried the three specials currently on the couture menu: bling bling benny (crispy poached eggs with smoked sturgeon) for breakfast; OB’s Kobe burger at lunch, and luxe A-5 gold five-ounce Japanese Kobe sirloin for dinner.
The eggs benedict was nothing like what I expected. Though I love classics, I cringe when I see eggs benedict on a brunch menu. Give me something more interesting! Well, here’s new interpretation of an oldie-but-goody. The poached eggs, covered in panko and Parmesan cheese, are deep fried until crispy, and served over smoked sturgeon and a confetti of three different caviars: ginger, American paddlefish and salmon roe, embellished by asparagus and tomato. It’s a striking and delicious breakfast.
The Kobe burger won my heart instantly. A Kobe beef patty is served between two pieces of brioche tea toast with sautéed chanterelles, summer truffles, shallots and melted Brie. It’s a “tasting” portion and the perfect size for savoring the rich flavors of the high quality ingredients. Truffle fries accompany, and while a little on the greasy side, they were ideally crispy, and, besides, it’s hard to resist the scent of truffle oil.
The Kobe steak is sliced into four thin pieces that you grill at the table on a scorching Himalayan salt brick. This is a common practice in Japan known as ishiyaki (hot stone cooking). It’s fun to cook your own meat, especially when your steak starts sizzling right in front of your eyes. It only takes a few seconds for it to cook on each side, and the satisfaction thereafter is instantaneous.
Chef DeMarco is so endearing. There’s no pretense; he’s jolly and wants you to be jolly, too. I’m looking forward to trying more of his ingenious “cocktail” cuisine!
Posted in American , Appetizer , Dumpling , Midtown East , Steak
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Mini Comté Burgers
by Celia Cheng
June 30th, 2008
LE CIRQUE WINE LOUNGE
151 E 58th St
(Lexington & 3rd Ave)
212-644-0202
Le Cirque needs no introduction. Through two facelifts, it’s remained a New York classic since 1974. Originally Le Cirque on East 65th Street, it was then Le Cirque 2000 in the Palace Hotel, and now it’s back to Le Cirque but in the new Bloomberg building on East 58th Street. Over the years, it’s been a staple for bankers and tourists alike, a very formal dining affair.
Through its multiple iterations, it has transformed itself from old school classic to modern classic, and now with the wine lounge, the audience continues to broaden, reaching a more casual crowd who can watch TV at the bar, enjoy lite-bites and drinks but not have to dress too formally (no jackets required). There’s even music, live at times, in the bar area.
I find the TV to be rather inappropriate even for a more “causal” environment, but I understand that during the day, traders must follow MSNBC obsessively. But perhaps after hours is time to turn off the television and enjoy good company and the delicious food prepared by Chef Christophe Bellanca. He’s created an entirely new menu, including an all-day bar menu, in addition to prix-fixe for lunch and dinner respectively.
The bar menu is an approachable list of 20 plus dishes, including some outstanding items. The tuna tataki with carpaccio of daikon and avocado, sesame vinaigrette, yuzu cucumber granité and seaweed salad is a magnificently light starter for this time of year. The tuna, daikon and avocado are sliced so thin, and the yuzu cucumber granité is a surprisingly cool and refreshing touch that dissolves as soon as it hits your tongue. It took me about two seconds to finish this elegant plate.
Everyone at the bar was raving about the mini Comté burgers. There’s also regular mini cheeseburgers on the menu, but when I inquired which was better, there was no contest; the Comté burgers won unanimously. One order serves two mini burgers, so it’s a perfect share. The Comté is melted over the beef patty, and the chanterelle and oyster mushrooms are rich and creamy. I should have been burgered out by now since I’ve tasted so many lately, but these were irresistible. Fries accompanied, and I had too many of those as well.
Surprisingly, the tortelli amatriciana was not a hit for me. These little tortelli, about six to a plate, were stuffed with guanciale and tomato and dusted with shaved pecorino. The guanciale was too salty and the tomato too sweet, and the marriage of the two resulted more in bickering than union on my palate.
But the cheese plate for dessert saved the day. It’s a selection of three or five, but there actually aren’t that many cheeses to choose from. Still, it was a very amiable way to unwind and end a meal of delicious small plates.
The lounge has 30 wines by the glass available for “tastes” or “pours,” which is another great plus. The bar menu itself has many suggested beverage pairings. I love variety and this way I can try something different with every plate. How brilliant! For lunch, cocktails, or dinner, Le Cirque Wine Lounge is a great option in Midtown for stellar food, and no longer a too-stuffy atmosphere.
Posted in Burger , French , Midtown East
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Porterhouse Steak
by Celia Cheng
March 31st, 2008
BENJAMIN STEAK HOUSE
52 E 41st St
(Madison & Park Ave)
212-297-9177
If there’s one thing a steak house should be, it’s grand! And Benjamin Steak House, in the century-old, Chemist Club-building-turned-Dylan Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, is exactly that.
Once inside the restaurant, a long, dark corridor leads to the heart of the restaurant, revealing the opulent main dining room with remarkably high ceilings, white columns, brass chandeliers, and a staircase that winds up to the second level dining area — a great seating option as it’s an open mezzanine overlooking the first floor. The lighting is dim to match the décor that I had read, “evokes a bygone era.” Before actually seeing the place, though, I was afraid that this characterization might translate to cheesy, but the restaurant interior is nothing short of gorgeous.
Benjamin Steak House is the collaborative endeavor of Peter Luger alumni: owner, Benjamin Prelvukaj and Chef Arturo McLeod. They are among a handful of Luger alum that have opened steakhouses in New York in recent years, paying tribute to the Luger tradition, but unlike the brash and dismissive treatment at Luger’s, Benjamin’s service is impeccable.
More precisely, our waiter was impeccable. His nametag read “Benny,” but his Eastern European accent suggested that “Benny” was probably a convenient Americanization of some other name. Benny, actually Besim Lajqi from Kosovo, seemed much younger than most of his colleagues, and perhaps because of that, at first my ageism got the better of me as I wondered if he knew what he was doing. However, at only twenty-two, Besim knows correct, old world service better than ninety percent of the servers I’ve encountered in New York. Throughout our meal, he was attentive but not overbearing and quick to pick up on details and jokes. The courses were well paced, and Besim divided the food evenly and expertly between mine and my sister’s plates. He did not appear offended when we didn’t take his recommendations, but we eventually realized our error in not trusting him. Professional and charming is what we hope every server can be, but that is most often not the case. We certainly lucked out with “Benny.”
My sister and I enjoyed a classic steak dinner, starting with iceberg wedges with blue cheese and jumbo shrimp cocktail. For main, the porterhouse for two was a combination of sirloin and filet mignon. I found the filet mignon a bit stringy, but the sirloin was stellar and there’s no doubt that the quality of the dry-aged beef was first rate, as the slices of steak were succulent and juicy. I was satisfied but couldn’t finish it all, so I took some leftovers home and gave them a second try. The only problem was that in heating them up, I cooked the initially perfectly medium rare cuts to medium well, which might have been a complete tragedy if the meat had not been able stand on its own. But they stood up to my overcooking, and still retained great flavor!
The side of German potatoes cooked golden brown was a cross between crispy and soggy and didn’t add anything to the meal, and the creamed spinach (a secret recipe, not made with cream) veered towards ordinary, too. I was excited for the homemade schlag (whipped cream) that came with the key lime pie and mixed berries for dessert, but that also disappointed as it was heavy and weighed down, not light or refreshing.
Potatoes and desserts aside, if you’re craving a steak in an elegant old school setting, do consider Benjamin Steak House. Have a cocktail at the bar while taking in the décor, and then enjoy a classic meal with quality meats and superb service. (And don’t forget to ask for Benny!)
Posted in American , Beef , Midtown East , Steak
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Uni Sushi (sea urchin sushi)
by Celia Cheng
August 1st, 2007
SUSHI YASUDA
204 E 43rd St
(2nd & 3rd Ave)
212-972-1001
Since returning from Greece, I’ve been on a sea urchin kick. I want to eat fresh uni (sea urchin) every day! The Greeks eat sea urchin with olive oil, lemon and bread. So when a Greek friend of mine, Alex, mentioned that she loves to buy sea urchin from Citarella, open and clean them herself and then enjoy them leisurely at home, I headed straight to the market. It sounded easy enough; unfortunately, sea urchins are not in season on the East Coast right now, so I was out of luck. This only fueled my craving.
In the August heat, I didn’t want to venture far and thought that I should give my neighborhood (seemingly more authentic) sushi joint, Ushiwakamaru, another try. For a variety of reasons — one of them being that the restaurant always feels rather dingy to me — I was once again not impressed. Since I am focusing on uni, I’ll skip the fish head and the rest of my gargantuan meal. As part of the starter, I was served steamed sea urchin with jelly. Unless it’s in pasta, I like my uni raw. I like the gooey texture and the strong, virulent flavor. When it’s steamed, uni seems to lose its personality; it becomes too solid and bland. I also had uni sushi at the end of the meal, and though it was better than the steamed, it didn’t hit the spot like I had hoped it would.
The following evening, on a whim, I decided to go to Sushi Yasuda, looking to remedy the previous evening’s experience. I wanted to make sure I had delicious sushi. About five years ago, I was at Yasuda-san’s counter on a weekly basis. In the past couple of years, I haven’t been able to go as often as I would like, but on this night, the stars were perfectly aligned. Without a reservation, I was able to get a seat in front of Yasuda-san, and though it’s been a while, he remembered exactly what I liked. Of course, I can’t go to Sushi Yasuda without starting with the morokyu (cucumbers with moromi miso). The monkfish tempura was not necessary, but it was a nice appetizer to whet my appetite. “The usual” for me is sushi matsu, twelve pieces of sushi and half a roll, omakase (chef’s choice) at Yasuda-san’s discretion of course! Yasuda-san must have magical hands because any fish he touches is just divine. The meals I’ve had at the restaurant when I didn’t sit in front of Yasuda-san’s station were, in my book, a waste of time.
My two MUST HAVES are hotate (scallop) and uni. Without having to remind him, the hotate appeared in the middle of the meal and after putting it in my mouth, I was floating on a cloud to heaven. For my last two pieces of sushi, Yasuda-san brought out two different varieties of uni, one from Sakhalin Island in Russia and the other from Santa Barbara. Both were orgasmically titillating, and I fear that having a preference for one may be blasphemy. The uni from Sakhalin Island was creamy, buttery and sweet and though it glided down my throat smoothly, I savored the taste until the end. It’s kind of strange to think that the Santa Barbara uni, which is generally considered sweet, was bitterer by comparison. I commented on how different the two uni tasted and Yasuda-san replied, “But both are delicious, which is what makes it interesting.” The meal concluded as perfectly as it had begun with one each of the green tea and red bean mochi ice cream.
It’s been a week since the meal at Sushi Yasuda, and I can still visualize, taste and smell the uni. And I am reminded why a weekly visit really is a necessity!
Posted in Japanese , Midtown East , Seafood , Sushi
Fried Calamari
by Mort Hochstein
January 18th, 2007
DESTINO
891 First Avenue
@ 50th Street
212-751-0700
Destino fits the ideal for a certain type of home-style Italian restaurant. It would be perfectly at home in Little Italy. But when you move uptown where the big boys — think San Domenico, Da Antonio, and Grifone — play, you have to be more than capable.
Celebrity owner Justin Timberlake, veteran operator Eytan Sugarman and chef Mario Curko, late of Rao’s, the uptown hangout where hardly anyone can get in, give Destino the kind of gloss it may need to succeed. Its location on First Avenue at 50th Street, a few blocks up from the United Nations and little else, is both good and bad. Good because Destino is one of very few restaurants in that lightly-traveled area, and bad because it is so off the regular midtown track that it has to become a destination. In Michelin terms, it has to be worth a detour and that’s unlikely here.
It comes down to being a local Italian restaurant, a bit pricey, but hardly expensive enough to scare off the well-heeled residents of its Turtle Bay neighborhood, many of whom already appeared to be regulars on my visit close to a year after its opening in February 2006. The room was well filled and the folks around me seemed contented.
Forgive me, but I wasn’t. Chef Curko’s southern Italian menu is full of all the red-sauce dishes we’ve known since the days of checkered red tablecloths, dripping candles and fiaschi-cradled Chianti. I could have found the same menu with its veal Marsala, chicken cacciatore, red snapper Livornese and sautéed scampi, all at around $25 and more, on a half dozen side streets in the Village, with the same ambience and for less money. The folks at Rao’s, chef Curko’s home for a whole decade, did me a favor by barring the doors.
The wine list is a disaster. In the champagne category, home to the same familiar names, the standard brands you find in less pretentious, less well-funded restaurants and on many store shelves, there is no Italian bubbly, other than a Santa Margherita prosecco. Where are the Ca’ del Bosco, Bellavista and Ferrari sparklers, which stand proudly with champagne on better Italian lists. Where is the pride in regional wines from Italy?
The still-wine lineup is slightly more imaginative, but hardly venturesome as you might expect of a quality restaurant, and it is overpriced. But then, maybe the good burghers of the neighborhood don’t care. I asked a well-fed, formally-dressed gentleman at an adjoining table what he was drinking and he responded, “It’s a red.” The most Italian power on that wine list arrives at dessert time, when diners can finish off with old favorites like Moscato d’Asti, Limoncello, Orangecello and Vin Santo.
All that said, Curko does put out good food with fresh ingredients, and an occasional innovative dish, We enjoyed his fried calamari salad with toasted walnuts and an apple balsamic dressing and roasted lamb risotto accompanied by shitake mushrooms, carrots, sun-dried cranberries and green apple slices. The meatballs, a Curko specialty, are hardly unique, but they’re good, and the food comes out hot. There’s an occasional bit of flare on that menu, but most of it is tried, true and tired. Ambience, service and familiarity are the planks here and they may be all that its unquestioning clientele want and deserve.
Posted in Italian , Midtown East , Seafood
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