The Chopped (salad)
by Celia Cheng
May 1st, 2007
QUALITY MEATS
57 W 58th St
(5th & 6th Ave)
212-371-7777
Quality Meats opened last April as the latest addition to the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group (SWRG). While the restaurant is located in Midtown and caters to those who work in the area with generous expense accounts, I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed the atmosphere, food and service each time I visited. This statement may sound unfair, but I only mean that Quality Meats is a smart and nice contrast to the original old school Smith & Wollensky steakhouse (now steakhouse conglomerate). Not that there’s anything wrong with old school, but I tend to feel a little out of place despite my voracious appetite for meat! By comparison, Quality Meats is modern and has a varied menu that has been expertly and beautifully executed with a touch of levity.
In fact, Quality Meats is more of a contemporary New York restaurant than a steakhouse. And while there’s no doubt of its expertise in meats, I actually am a big fan of all the seafood served. Chef Craig Koketsu pays close attention to the orders coming in. When my friend and I ordered soft shell crab, crabcake, crab and avocado, and hamachi sashimi for appetizers, he altered the seasoning and ingredients of some to make sure there wasn’t too much overlap in flavors. All of it is extremely fresh and the presentation beautiful. The hamachi sashimi remains my favorite. The fresh hamachi (yellowfin tuna) pairing with the creaminess of avocado and refreshing, crunchy green papaya is a knockout.
The lunch menu at QM is really a delight with “The Chopped” salad as one its main highlights. Guests choose from a selection of mixes including classic (romaine, Boston bibb, beefsteak tomatoes, thick-cut onions, bacon lardons, and bleu cheese dressing), Mediterranean (arugula, olives, artichokes, chickpeas, cucumbers, roasted peppers and basil vinaigrette), roasted beet (red and gold beets, radicchio, endive frisée, arugula and toasted walnut vinaigrette), green goddess (romaine, cucumbers, olives, red onions, apples, sunflower seeds, and creamy fresh herb dressing), or eastern (napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, cilantro, hosui pears, green papaya, roasted peanuts and spicy lime vinaigrette). After choosing your mix, you pick “a finishing touch” from the choices of roasted vegetables, grilled chicken breast, marinated shrimp, thinly sliced diver scallops, seared yellowfin tuna, pepper seared filet mignon or lobster (when in season). I’ve tried the classic with filet mignon and the green goddess with lobster, both of which were fun and great lunch options, as they were filling but not heavy.
The QM burger is also a nice alternative as it comes with an avocado on top and is served with parmesan hot fries, a.k.a. Tabasco fries. With all the food we had ordered, I wasn’t quite sure what was so spicy at first, but then realized that the fries were seasoned with Tabasco and sprinkled with grated parmesan. The waiter also explained that in addition to ketchup, another condiment served with the fries is Tabasco mayonnaise, just in case the fries alone were not hot enough. I love these fries! Spicy foods always open up my appetite, so I couldn’t get enough of them.
For dessert, pastry chef Cory Colton makes a variety of his own ice creams, including “coffee and doughnuts” and raspberry chocolate truffle. But I actually fell in love with the warm apple tart with apricot and blueberry compote. The tart is thin and refined, but there’s something about warm apple pies, one bite and it just feels like home. Despite being uncomfortably full after an extremely copious meal, I wanted to finish this dessert — and those who know me know I am not a sweets girl!
After lunch on both visits, I was ready to go home for a nap. I felt completely satisfied and blissful. And walking out of the restaurant, I relished the thought of how good life is. And for that, I give Quality Meats a thumbs-up.
Posted in American , Midtown West , Salad , Seafood , Steak
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Fettuccine (w/ oysters, mascarpone and tarragon)
by Celia Cheng
November 22nd, 2006
ESCA
402 W 43rd St
@ 9th Ave
212-564-7272
Well, who would have thought that towards the end of the month, my meals just keep getting better?!
Whenever my sister and I go see a Broadway play, we usually have dinner at Esca afterwards. It’s the perfect choice because by 10pm, we inevitably think that we just want something light and the crudo — Italian raw fish — at Esca fits the bill. Of course, once there, we always end up eating more than we had anticipated. But there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when your tummy is so tickled by all the good food coming out of Dave Pasternack’s kitchen. This was the night before Thanksgiving, and Dave was at the restaurant still cooking and taking care of customers until close to midnight.
So the story goes like this: Mike Osinski delivers his Widow’s Hole oysters to top Manhattan restaurants every Wednesday, including to Esca. Mike mentioned that Dave had made a soup with these oysters once, so for a week straight, I kept calling the restaurant, asking if they were serving oyster soup for dinner. The answer was always, “No. Call back tomorrow. We change our menu daily.” Eventually, I gave up. The agony of not being able to taste this soup and trying so desperately to track it down was eating me up inside. So I chose to forget about it. Naturally, I mentioned this to Dave, and he said that it was Wednesday so he would make an oyster pasta for us, using the shipment of Widow’s Hole oysters he just received, even though it wasn’t on the menu today. I was elated!
We started with the taste of 3 types of scallop crudo: Peconic Bay served simply natural, Nantucket Bay with chervil, and Diver with tangerine pressed olive oil. The Diver scallop is what’s normally on the menu and is the largest of the three types of scallops, but the other two were a special treat. I love raw scallops in general but am not a huge fan of Diver scallops. Of the three, my favorite was the Peconic Bay in its natural state. The Nantucket Bay was also yummier than the Diver, and slightly brinier than the Peconic Bay, which is smoother and sweeter. We enjoyed the scallops along with a mixed green salad that was also delicious! Despite being slightly overdressed, the quality and variety of greens were superior to most salads I’ve tasted.
The star dish of the evening was definitely the fettuccine with oysters, mascarpone and tarragon. While this pasta sounds heavy, it’s pleasantly pure and clean tasting. I prefer my oysters raw, but Mike’s oysters were cooked and well used in this instance. Combining the creaminess of the mascarpone cheese with a hint of anise aroma from the tarragon showcases Dave’s faculty in using the subtle strengths of different ingredients to create a unified masterpiece! I’m still dreaming about it. But I know I will probably have to wait until next Wednesday before I can head over to Esca again for my oyster pasta fix.
While the play we saw turned out to be a dud, our dinner at Esca was spectacular and stole the show for the evening!
Posted in Hell’s Kitchen , Italian , Pasta , Seafood
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Po’ Boy
by Celia Cheng
November 18th, 2006
HOG ISLAND OYSTER CO.
Ferry Building Marketplace
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111
The Stand is located at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (north of the Ferry Building) from 8am to 2pm on Saturday.
The Bar is located inside the Ferry Building Marketplace, Shop #11-1.
415-391-7117
The Farm is located on Highway 1 in Marshall, CA, 15 minutes north of Point Reyes Station.
415-663-9218
By Yvette Jackson
I love Saturday mornings because of Hog Island Oyster Co. As soon as I’m dressed, I put on my iPod and head down to the Farmer’s Market at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Hog Island oysters have become a weekly indulgence. Located between the north end of the Ferry Building and the water is the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market where local vendors display seasonal fruits and organic goods. My first stop is always the Hog Island stand.
On days when the grill is set up, I order a Po’ Boy — a traditional Louisiana sub or sandwich made with French bread (fillings vary) — and enjoy a mix of Atlantic, Kumamoto and Sweetwater oysters on the half shell while I wait. The Po’ Boy consists of lightly grilled oysters on a baguette and is not part of the regular menu at The Bar inside the Ferry Building. The flavor is incredibly fresh. The oysters are harvested that same morning in Tomales Bay, just north of San Francisco. Other offerings include BBQ oysters, Hog Island Manila clams and Hog Island French Hogs — the French species of these oysters are known as belons. You can buy clams and oysters by the dozen and shuck them at home, but don’t forget the Hogwash! Hogwash is the perfect mixture of rice vinegar, shallots, jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice that complements the natural succulence of Hog Island shellfish.
I have been on a mission to find a better tasting oyster and nothing comes close. The quality, friendly service and view of the San Francisco Bay make Saturday lunch at the Hog Island Oyster stand a worthwhile experience. To satiate mid-week cravings, there’s the Hog Island Oyster Company bar located just inside the Ferry Building Marketplace. The bar offers a gourmet dining experience 7 days a week. The farm in Tomales Bay sells oysters to go or you can shuck your own on-site at their bayside picnic area.
Yvette Jackson is a sound artist living in San Francisco. She has spent over 10 years exploring the neighborhood restaurants, farmers markets and specialty shops that make up the rich culinary treasures of the Bay Area.Posted in American , San Francisco , Seafood
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Lobster Roll
by Celia Cheng
October 21st, 2006
URBAN LOBSTER
240 E Houston St
(Ave A & B)
212-677-2626
This seems to be the month of comparisons. First Torys and Yakitori Totto, and now I’m pitting Tides’s lobster roll against Urban Lobster’s. Actually, in this case, it’s not much of a competition. Tides wins hands down.
Urban Lobster opened this month and it’s trying to turn New England seafood favorites, like lobster rolls, into a fast food business. But at $19 a pop, these are not fast food prices. I would willingly pay a couple bucks more to eat the superior lobster roll at Pearl, Tides, The Mermaid Inn or Mary’s, which have pleasant atmospheres to boost. You can probably already see where this is going.
There are two small tables and a side counter for diners to eat in, but Urban Lobster’s slogan is “prepared seafood to go” and that’s the business they want to run. Based on the seafood boom that New York City has seen, creating a take-out seafood restaurant should make for higher profit margins, as you don’t have to deal with table service.
The “restaurant” is set up more like a deli. Upon entering, the cashier and drinks are to the right and straight ahead is where you order. You walk up to a counter where the salads and sides sit behind the glass partition. The kitchen is behind the counter. The problem with food sitting out in a counter like this is that it can’t retain freshness for very long. I love an avocado, tomatoes and red onion salad, but the avocados were brown and just didn’t look appetizing. The salads seemed to be in good shape, but the tuna salad looked like food poisoning waiting to happen. At 5pm, dinner dishes were being prepared and brought out, so the sides like corn on the cob and red bliss mashed potatoes with fresh butter looked enticing.
I decided to test out the lobster roll. If the selling point of the restaurant wasn’t any good, I don’t know what else could be. I started to have my doubts as soon as I saw the large chunks of celery in the lobster salad — one of my pet peeves is when people can’t bother to cut things delicately. Let’s just say that you could tell it was the workmanship of a take-out joint rather than a restaurant.
The description for the roll on the menu reads: “a mound of fresh lobster salad stuffed into a buttered toasted hot dog bun, served with cole slaw.” That hot dog bun was definitely not toasted, in fact it was as cold as could be. It would have been better toasted, but the cold bun wasn’t really a point of contention for me.
Though cole slaw is a fairly traditional accompaniment to seafood in New England, I found it to be a bad choice as the only side dish offered with the lobster roll. Not only was the cole slaw bad, but its distinctive taste also clashed with the lobster. After I had finished this meal, the taste of the sea lingered in my mouth like a bad aftertaste. Even when I tried to get rid of it with a nice dry Riesling, it didn’t go away.
Urban Lobster has received a lot of press in the past two weeks. For the amount of money they spent on PR, they might have put some dollars into their website too. They have been fixing it up but it still looks like a hack job. It’s pretty amusing. But, as you know, food for me is no laughing matter.
Posted in American , LES , Seafood
Fried Honeyed Eggplant
by Celia Cheng
October 13th, 2006
TIDES
102 Norfolk St
(Rivington & Delancey St)
212-254-8855
When Tides opened last July, I had heard good reviews but didn’t put it on the top of my list to try because I was suspicious that it would be one of those “trendy” restaurants. I waited to see if it was just hype or if it would stand the test of time and live up to the discerning palates of New Yorkers.
It seems that I was mistaken. Though Tides has a chic, award-winning interior space, the cuisine also stands on its own. The food is hearty and the service warm. The crowd seems uniform in the sense that they are all food lovers, regardless of their age or style.
I mainly came to try the lobster roll, but a side dish at the table next to mine caught my eye so I had to inquire to find out what it was. Turns out it was the fried honeyed eggplant. When I think deep-fried eggplant, I imagine something like eggplant tempura, but this one looked more like a doughnut of some sort. Chef Judy Seto came up with the idea of beer-battered, deep-fried eggplant drizzled with honey, and the result is delicious. Large slices of eggplants are dipped in thick beer batter and deep-fried, so it comes out looking and tasting like beignets. The honey adds a touch of sweetness to round it out. This side dish is rather copious and good to share amongst friends. Had I not devoured the rest of my meal beforehand, I probably would have been able to stuff a couple more of them in.
The lobster roll changes seasonally and currently it’s “succulent sweet lobster meat, dressed lightly with lemon zest, cilantro, cucumber and mayonnaise.” Seems fancy, but the bottom line is that it tastes downright good. The hotdog bun it comes in is grilled so that it’s not only toasty warm, but also has a slightly crunchy texture. Though it looks a little burnt, it tastes better than any lobster roll bun I’ve ever had. I devoured it then licked my fingers. The roll is accompanied by yucca chips. The thinly sliced chips come out looking so graceful. They’re extremely crisp and tasty, but aren’t overly greasy. I don’t particularly like potato chips, compared to other potato dishes that is. Yet the yucca chips complemented the lobster roll so well, perhaps even better than shoe-string fries.
I know I’m going in reverse order but I just don’t want to leave anything out. I started the meal with the salad Sevillana — baby Arugula, thin sliced red onion, grape tomato halves dressed in a paprika and red-vinegar based “Sevillana” dressing. It’s garnished with 2 hard-boiled egg quarters, 2 artichoke hearts, thin sliced Serrano ham, shaved Manchego cheese and a thin slice of guava paste. Sounds complicated but it was actually rather fun to keep finding different things in the salad, all of which were delicious. For a second, I thought the guava paste was a piece of bottarga, and was so excited, but when I bit into it, I was surprised to taste guava, one of my favorite fruits.
The ceiling at Tides is noteworthy. A visual presentation of seagrass is made from over 110,000 bamboo skewers embedded into a back-lit acoustical ceiling. Wow! It’s gorgeous and makes the restaurant really special because there’s something so soothing about the visual movement it creates — the skewers look like they are gently swaying in water. So even though there are no tides anywhere close by, you can still feel very close to the ocean. Just look up!
Posted in American , LES , Seafood
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