A Broad on Broadway

Chocolate and Other Stuff...

2010-05-08T16:00:00.001-04:00

You will not gain any weight from this post.

What a better way to end the posts on our vacation then to end it with chocolate. The last day that Mr. Broad and I were in town, he had the GENIUS! idea of doing a self-guided chocolate tour. (Did I find a catch or what?) A great way to get off the beaten path and just explore more areas. And Chocolate.

PS- Thank you David Lebovitz for all the suggestions.

PPS- Salted Caramels: you rock.

We walked around to a lot of recommended chocolate stores mainly to see their window fronts or to take in the smells. The windows were all decked for Easter with each store outdoing the next. I took some pictures to share because I'm sure you care.

To be frank, it may be my Jewish roots but I don't get the connection of Easter to some of the chocolate displays (beavers?) Regardless it was impressive all the same.

These eggs were filled with chocolate. Not sure how they did it but you could buy them for $30. Wait, it's now occurring to me that the shell is also chocolate. OOH...

Okay, they looked pretty real but I'm not sure...

Little bunnies, ducks, and chicks inside one of the stores.

There were larger turtles than this one, but this chocolate turtle would set you back over $100...

Would you like a sample?

The answer is yes.

Okay, this wasn't chocolate store, but check out the pastries. And note the large macaroons which are pretty wonderful.

Paris and Spain were wonderful. A beautiful vacation that was heightened by the scenery, the food, and the culture. Oh and the wine. Right. Speaking of- I thought I'd include some pictures from La Rioja region that didn't make any of the blog posts.

Breathtaking.

This winery was designed by Frank Gehry. The same guy that did the Guggenheim in Bilboa and lots of other famous buildings. It is also one of these world class hotels that we tried to get into but there was some Peugeot car conference. We still enjoyed the wine tour.

Aah what a vacation.

We're already brainstorming for our next vacation. All recommendations welcome- we're thinking beaches.

Mr. Broad wants to go with Colombia. Yes, the coffee, kidnapping South America capital. It's supposed to be the new Caribbean hotspot.

I'm taking other suggestions.

Anyone??

You know that Scene in Indiana Jones where they eat Monkey Brains...

2010-04-27T22:08:00.020-04:00

Welcome to Fear Factor: Paris Edition

Well first we went wine touring in La Rioja region and spent the night in Laguardia, Spain which was pretty freaking awesome.

I'll post pictures later. But first up, Paris.

Jadis

So meal 1 in Europe, Mr. Broad and I were super timid to ask the waitress for some help on the menu, we wanted to be *cool* Americans that didn't need the waitress's help. Hell, I whipped out my English-French dictionary even.

Come the end of the trip, however, we had no problem asking a little Parlez-vous Anglais?

And we happened to get the nicest waiter ever who translated the. Entire. Menu.

Merci Beaucoup Monsieur.

Of course I didn't write anything down so it doesn't help you at all but it was damn good.

Pork Belly with Chorizio and other yummy stuff. And foam. Ooh fancy.

Heavenly.

And here it is. The garcon (I'm SOO french! Now if only I knew how to do that little squiggly below the c...) went down the menu in English and stopped on the last appetizer.

He looked at Mr. Broad and I. Nervous.

Garcon: Do you know what this is?

Mr. Broad and I: No...

Garcon: Ehh... This is brain and... tongue (pause waiting for Americans to freak out).

Us: What? (I swear we thought he said lungs instead of tongue. Cause thaat would have been gross.)

Garcon: Ehh... It's brain. And. Tongue. A cow's tongue.

Me: A brain?? (He said BRAIN?!)

Garcon: Oui, people like it. It's very popular (of course it is)

Mr. Broad: I'll take it.

Garcon: Oui? You're sure.

Mr. Broad: Oh yes, I'm sure.

Oh boy.

And then it came out. Just like it looks. Now I'm familiar with the Jewish variety deli meat tongue (Mr. Broad and Brother's favorite) but even this was a little different. The tongue was smooth and well, pretty awesome. With your average lamb's brain is the centerpiece of this dish. No idea on the preparation. We're hoping it wasn't raw.

Yes, even I had the tiniest little sliver. Because how often can you pass up brain!? Surprisingly not bad. If you just close your eyes and think of chicken.

You know that halloween prank where you put your hand in the bowl full of peeled grapes and they tell you it's eyeballs?...

Yeah, this was the real thing. With your eyes wide open. And you eat it.

It deserves a close up.

The waiter stopped by several times to make sure we were okay.

Oh Mr. Broad was. There was no leftover brain in case you wanted to take some home with you.

Main courses here.

What was this?! UGH. It was good! Tender, juicy and awesome. I think it was the actual lamb.

Mr. Broad got the squid.

I guess with the brain adventure Mr. Broad decided to play it safe and stick with the fish. How about those grill marks!? Perfectly cooked.

Pistachio and Chocolate Pot de Creme

I must have seen 4 of these come out of the kitchen, so it was a no brainer what I was getting.

Oh Paris, how I love thee.

Cheese platter

We had picked up cheese at a fromagerie but we had yet to try the popular French dessert cheese course. Mr. Broad who was really on a roll here, decided to go for it.

A large offering of cheese, it was a different ending for two Americans so used to ending on a sweet note.

I mean, Mr. Broad had a salad.

As he exclaimed. "My last bite and it's going to be salad? Pass me that pot de creme... "

Review:

This place was fabulous. Hell, we're even ahead of the trend as it got written up in the New York Time last week. Not presumptuous, it had a New York feel located in a small restaurant. Mr. Broad proclaimed this was his favorite meal in Paris. I can't decide anymore. But if I ever want brain, I know where to go.

Tapas: From Pig's Ear to Potatoes

2010-04-25T18:43:00.020-04:00

Hold up. Give it up for my 100th post. Holler!

--------------------

Okay now onto San Sebastian.

San Sebastian is known for it's tapas or pinchos (in Basque it's pintxo). These small plates line the bar or if you're lucky they might serve hot food at the bar.

Here are some samples:

Potato omelet

A popular tapas, I've had it in the States- however this one was quite possibly the most moist and cheesiest.

Shrimp on toast

Even the simple ones were wonderful.

Pan Fried Foie Gras over Apple Sauce and other things

Hands down the best tapas I had. Just beautiful.

A trio of tapas (Left to Right)

Crab salad wrapped in tuna

Marmalade over goat cheese on a cracker

Sardines (or maybe anchovies?)

A wagu beef burger in a tomato bun with banana chips

See they can be fancy too.

Okay, this wasn't in San Sebastian but in a small town, Laguardia- in La Rioja region (a different post)

The worst tapas that Mr. Broad had.

Here is Fried Pigs Ear.

It looked as bad as it tasted. Mr. Broad said it was because it was fried. Sure and not because of the cartilage??

Take 2.

And then because g-d forbid Mr. Broad should say he hates a food item, he had to give it a second shot. It wasn't fried but I passed on trying it. Yes, I missed out on not one, but two opportunities to try pig's foot. I'm okay with that. Pig's ear second time around, Mr. Broad enjoyed it a lot more thoroughly.

Brought to you by the website, This is why you're fat...

A hot dog surrounded by cheese surrounded by ham and then fried.

Glorious.

Have no fear, it wasn't all fried.

This guy eventually bought Mr. Broad and I several rounds of drinks and enjoyed practicing his English on us.

We have tapas in the States but they just aren't the same as San Sebastian. Most aren't on a menu here, you point at the bar and they heat them up if necessary. The freshness and simplicity is paramount. And due to small portions, it gives you the opportunity to try lots of different plates at different bars. Even if it's two pig's ear.

Now for some scenes around San Sebastian. Because aside from the food, it is also a pretty awesome and beautiful city.

The Best Lunch Ever. We've now reached International Foodie Status

2010-04-19T21:46:00.016-04:00

Asador Etxebarri

Apxe, Spain

THE Lunch.

The lunch which kicks all other lunches asses- and dinners for that matter. When you can't find any adjectives that work so you bring our the curse words.

We drove from Biarritz to the countryside in Spain for two hours away to what felt like the middle of nowhere. (where ARE we??) Seriously, thank you Mrs. GPS for somehow figuring out where we were even though the streets weren't named with your British accent pronouncing Spanish/Basque like it was English. You really are a hoot. And Spain for all your roundabouts which forced us to reenact National Lampoons European Vacation. (Look kids, Big Ben)

Etxebarri is rated amongst the top 50 restaurants in the world. The head chef is known for grilling everything. He has created a custom grill in his kitchen and changes the coals for each order-- and each COURSE. Intense. They only serve lunch there and we were lucky we got a reservation. I'm sure we were dining amongst other foodie greats but my celeb sightings doesn't yet venture into the international chef sector yet. (Score for seeing Spike Lee at Starbucks today- again!)

Okay. The restaurant is set in the cutest little countryside. You start to think, HOW is there good food here? And how did anyone find it? Perhaps the fact that the chef is friends with the Ferran Adria of the world's best El Bulli has something to do with it. (Sidenote: REALLY? El Bulli is closing?!).

We sat down to a beautiful table- in a barn-like cottage. An Australian, which we later learned was the Sous-Chef, came out (why had I not googled him earlier??) because the front of the house told him Americans were here! Of all meals to have explained to us in English- I mean I get it we're in your country but I'm now about to drop a lot of money so thanks for sending the Aussie over to help us. The menu was confusing but mainly because of it's minimalist approach. The menu had maybe 25 items on it but only had items like: Chicken. Octopus. Beef. Was that it for the price? We later learned it came with several courses but you really just trust the chef. We could do that.

We asked our new favorite sous-chef if they have a tasting menu- and he said tell me some things you like/dislikes are and they create it individually for their customers.

So let's begin.

Vegetable Soup

It was good and non controversial but really the palate cleaner.

Butter with Truffles and Sea Salt

The sous-chef told us he hand churns the butter. (And it's SMOKED!) How does he DO that?! It was heavenly. Dear Truffles, while I HATE your fungi counterpart I welcome you with open arms to my palette.

Check out the butter thickness..

Prawns

Grilled of course. Time to get down and dirty- totally succulent (For the record, I hate that adjective but it totally applies)

Cockles with grapefruit

Who knew I liked cockles? I've had them before (Thailand 2007) but man this just can't compare. Even the dish was a special "cockel" dish and had divets for them to lay.

Baby Octopus with Vegetables

Hands down our favorite dish. Smooth and tender the grill really brought out the octopus flavor. I still think about this dish.

Grilled Grouper? Bass?

Ugh I don't remember which is a shame... Flaky, and all other things good fish should be.

Chorizo

Fresh with slighty grilled favor. It wasn't dried like your charcuterie plate may be used to- it had a slight steak tartare quality to it and rocked. Came with breadsticks that helped to enhance the taste.

Chuleta

Best. Steak. Ever. Cut like a strip steak but it tasted like we could have licked the grill. We were utterly stuffed by this course but sneaked a couple bites in.

Perfectly medium rare quality

Smoked ice cream with blueberry sauce

That's right I said smoked. I've never experienced such a wonderful flavor like this (except for the courses before.)

Flan.

Okay. It's called flan, but truth be told it was a cross between a cheesecake and just plain out custard. Because flan definitely isn't this good. It was perfect, somewhat light and the best ending to a gluttonous meal.

Mr. Broad couldn't believe the quality of this dessert- and this from a flan hater! One guess who was a member of the clean plate club on dessert?

Review:

I mean what's to say about this restaurant that hasn't already been said. The food was "simple" and the grilled flavor only complimented it and heightened the taste. Anthony Bourdain went there in No Reservations: Spain and said- "You can be assured that no one is eating anything quite as amazing as you are at this present time." Or something like that. This meal goes in the ever changing top 5 meals Mr. Broad and I have had of all time. But this one is staying on the list cause how many have scenery to match the food.

Gorgeous.

Enjoy the video.

Biarritz: France's Best Kept Secret

2010-04-19T20:00:00.002-04:00

Mr. Broad and I play this stupid game that we apply to anything. Underrated or Overrated. I got the game from my Uncle years ago. Basically you call out a food item, a place, a subject... anything and debate whether it's underrated or overrated. Or sometimes rated just right.

Example:

Ciopillini Onions- Underrated

White Rice- Overrated

Chicken Salad- Rated just right

You get the idea. Yeah, we tend to play it with food items. So where am I going with this? We went to a small town on the border of France- Biarritz. 100% Underrated. Why do more people not know of this area?! Wait. Maybe I'm glad more people don't know about this town. Boutique shops, Fromageries, Chocolatiers, Patisseries, Boulangiers lining the street. This was small town Paris on the Bay of Biscay (Thanks Mr. Broad for that geography lesson). Gorgeous.

Flavored dry mini sausages

We were only there in the town for a day/night but I could have stayed longer. I don't think there's that much to do but Mr. Broad and I were getting pretty used to the "drinking our cafe (coffee) and hanging out" scene.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast and walked the hilly town. Biarritz is in Basque country. Basque country is made up of 7 providences between Spain and France. There's even a different language that has a lot of consonants right next to each other not resembling any European language we've seen.

For dinner that night, our B&B recommended a restaurant a couple blocks away and the name now escapes me. Again, a wonderful, pleasant suprise.

Our waiter spoke English, loved that we were from New York, sharing a story with us when he was there in '95.

We started with the charcuterie plate. I don't remember what everything was. But let's just say ham, chorizio, and more pork.

Really now, have you ever had a charcuterie plate you didn't like?

Mr. Broad went with the steak tartare and pommes frites.

Note he eventually ended up eating steak tartare 3 times while on vacation. This was far and away my favorite steak tartare ever. Hand chopped meat, with not a lot of "addiditives" it didn't have the raw beef taste. And don't start me on the fries. Perfectly crispy, I'd say they were the best fries I've ever had. Yes, I'm going there.

I had grilled squid with rice. And probably some other stuff but I'm forgetting. Also tasty but I could have traded the white rice for... the fries.

We stumbled upon an indoor market the next day. The booths consisted of Fruit, Pastries, Bread, Meat. Repeat.

Cute right??

Not sure what this was, but worthy of a picture.

Kind of felt like a crime scene...

Maybe it was my lack of research on the town. But either way, Biarritz, thank you for this pleasant surprise and your redeeming charm.

Cheers.

Mon Dieu! What Portions!

2010-04-18T16:46:00.006-04:00

So when you think of French food, you think snobby small portions that you can eat in one bite, right? Well stereotype debunked. Here is where quantity equals quality.

This place was one of my favorites. Just a total French atmosphere with a waiter that played the part. Had his nose slightly up in the air because he knew his food was le shit. And I'm pretty sure he spoke English although fronted like he didn't, but that's part of why I loved it. I'm in your country- speak your language.

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

Truth be told, Mr. Broad stumbled onto this one because it was open on a Sunday night. Apparently Paris is not New York City.

This place was known for it's lentils so at least I knew that going in...

Green Lentil Salad with Bacon

The waiter served it out of this large bowl and then... LEFT the bowl with us to finish it off. We coulda asked for the check by now.

Mr. Broad went with the Ham platter. Which I'm sure it was called something better in French but he savored it all the same.

This was my favorite part of the meal. The waiter who acts as part chef/ensembler puts the mashed potatoes together tableside. They were quite popular so I took a picture. Mr. Broad wouldn't let me take the picture when he did the schtick at our table. Cause hello, tourists.

Now that's elasticity.

Mr. Broad got the country sausage with the mashed potatoes. Holy creamy. Mr. Broad let me in on the secret that it's the cheese and not the cream that makes it hold that elasticity shape.

He loved it.

I don't remember what this is that I had for my main course but something to the affect of a chicken stew with vegetables. I loved it. Have we mentioned that the French love cream?

Aah. I looked up the menu. Cause what was that? Stew Veal with Blue Cheese Sauce

Yum.

Yep. No dessert. We were stuffed. And when the table next to us ordered mouse and they served it out of a large salad bowl and then LEFT the extra on the table?.. There was just no way.

I am still thinking of those mashed potatoes though. And for an even better look back at them- check out the photo on their menu.

Merci!

They Don't Teach You This in French Class

2010-04-05T22:44:00.015-04:00

Before I begin raving about our restaurant, I gotta give it up for our hotel.

The Westin was in a perfect location- right near the Louvre/Tuilleries... and with preferred status we got an upgrade to a $850/room night. (the price was listed on the door).

So while this isn't a "money saving blog", when you pay less than a quarter of the price and get a view of the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and all the big must-sees... well, I have to advocate the Starwood Credit Card.

Views from our hotel: (there was a mini balcony)

And a view of the Louvre from our hotel room during the day.

A gray day in Paris is better than... ___ (fill in the blank)

Okay. Dinner. First night of dinner, we were a bit jet lagged and took a much needed nap beforehand.

We found this place from Mr. David Lebovitz. Who's kinda like the shit. (Excuse my French... HAH- GET IT?! And it's not French at all!) I think I'll take another post to write about David later.

Aux Lyonnais

Reading over the menu.

Oh Le Shit.

I definitely don't know French.

We didn't want to be *those* Americans and have the waiter translate every item (don't worry we eventually gave in a couple dinners later) so we did our best with my mini English/French Dictionary, my 5 years of French 8 years ago, and Mr. Broad's fluency in Spanish which is kiiiinda similar to French. We tried.

So let me explain what we ate in our English terms cause that's what I know.

Pig something. It came in a jar, was spreadable, and I'm pretty sure it was innards, pate, yet creamy. Mr. Broad chowed down. Il l'aime.

A creamy bacon leek tart

All I knew was that I was getting something with leeks. Yum. But helloo cream! I was getting flashbacks to Meryl Streep adding cream to her dishes a la Julia Child. I never saw the movie but saw enough of the trailers to get the picture. The French like cream.

Blood Sausage

...Sorry Mr. Broad, I didn't know how to say bone marrow (which our neighbors got). No loss though! This blood sausage was easily the best he's ever had. Oh and with amaazing apples on the side. RIGHT! Pomme de terre is potatoes but pommes is apples. I totally knew that. Oops.

Quenelles- fish dumplings. The waiter explained what it was and it was in my mini dictionary so it had to be popular.

An odd texture if I do say so. A dumpling- a creamy one- and my guess was it was like a gefilte fish but well, without the jelly part. (It was just Passover, give me the comparison...) And I don't even like gefilte fish! But this, creamy and really good. Just a bit different.

Dessert. EVERYONE orders dessert. We were stuffed (CREAM much??) but decided to split a dessert (Helloo, it's France) and got the "Areyousureyou'reSPLITTINGadessertandaren'torderingyourown?!" look from our waiter. Yes that's a look.

Introducing the souffle.

The most airy and creamy and soft and delicious souffle I've ever had. Not that I'm a souffle expert but if I was, this was the one. It came with some orange soaked grand marnier thingy which we eventually incorporated.

Mr. Broad and I were adamant that we wouldn't go to any touristy like places. We wanted to go where the locals went- no English menu options and just damn good food. (And wine.) The restaurant lived up to expectations. I think I would brush up on my French if we were to go back. Way too much food envy.

How did France claim naming rights on French Onion Soup?

2010-04-04T17:21:00.010-04:00

Mr. Broad and I were doing our best to have all the necessary "must tries."

Croissants- check
Macaroons- Check
French onion Soup-- Check
French Fries- Check

Mr. Broad and I were doing the tourist thing for a day (The Louvre, Musee D'orsay, Notre Dame...). We were in Les Halles area when we walked by a rather showy restaurant. Mr. Broad recognized it from a recommendation from a friend.

(SEE! NOT ALL our meals are planned out!... Okay but all the Paris dinners were...)

Au Pied de Cochon
Les Halles, Paris

After doing a little googling there's also one in Miami and (gasp!) Atlanta. But don't tell Mr. Broad, and this one is the original from 1946. So at least I feel better now.

It's funny instead of the bread/butter combo, they put out bread and a pork pate of sorts. Oh it was good. And we later learned, this was not the first restaurant to go down this path. They heart the pig.

French Onion Soup
Probably about an inch thick in cheese. And a baquette soaked within the soup, but with minimal onions. But wow that cheese. This was probably the most dense soup I have ever eaten (When does it become a casserole?) and could barely make a dent in it.

Steak Tartare
I'm not the biggest steak tartare fan (One guess who is...) but the waiter does a little schtick where you watch him make it (I mean it is raw beef). This one had extra relish and capers in it. And hello... What's up HUGE portion of raw meat. Cooked hamburgers don't come this large.

You can tell this is a popular brunch place. The white table clothes and all they still admitted me in with my tourist sneakers.

Thanks for the recommendation!

The vacation in recap

2010-04-03T21:12:00.012-04:00

Aah France and Spain.

How I love thee. Our first vacation that didn't *really* involve a beach. But involved plenty of mountains, scenery, wine, great food, and chocolate. And wine.

I took pictures of our meals cause well, helloo you just don't eat like this normally. As I did with our last vacation to Brazil thought I'd do the same and give a list of superlatives. And then you know blog about our vacation to make it seem so much longer than it was. Cause Basque country yeah, you're TOTALLY UNDERRATED.

Days on vacation: 9

Pictures taken: 708

Books read: Mrs. Broad 4; Mr. Broad 48 pages.

Note: The book Sarah's Key: best and most pertinent book to read while in Paris. Whoa.

Saddest movie to watch on a plane: Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. I think I've finally recovered from it.

Quote from French winemaker we idolized: "Do you drink a bottle of wine a day? I do."

Most prestigious quote from a fellow wine taster: "Aah this wine would go just lovely with a pan fried foie gras."

Mr. Broad's favorite French word: Douche

First biggest blunder on the trip: Mr. Broad booking two tickets to Biarretz in HIS NAME. Les Awesome.

Second biggest blunder: Misreading the euros and how much a bottle of Armagnac was. Thinking it was $45 but learned it was $240 after we paid. Screaming "return-ey!"... "exchange-ay!" to the cashier.

Worst flight ever: Sitting two seats down from a woman on the red eye to Paris as she was violently ill the entire flight. And passing barf bags to her. Les Awesome.

Second worst flight ever: on our way to Biarretz, the woman next to Mr. Broad asked for "le sac." WTF.

How you say barf bag in French: le sac

Craziest thing we ate: brain

Worst thing Mr. Broad ate: fried pig's ear.

The "I'll give it another shot" award: Pig's ear. Mr. Broad proclaimed it was better the 2nd time because it wasn't fried.

Best meal we had: lunch at Asador Etxebarri.

(Thanks Anthony Bourdain for the recommendation- around minute 3:45; we met the sous-chef!)

Oh and pictures.

I know you've all seen the Eiffel Tower. Or Ms. Mona Lisa. So here are the pictures you haven't seen...

Souffle- the French do it right.

Fresh made crepes

The windows of the chocolatiers had fun displays for Easter

Oh chocolate...

A line is forming outside of a popular Boulangiere. Trust me this ain't your Wonder Bread

St. Jean Pied de Port

(I loved saying this town's name)

All the houses in the French countryside were white with red shutters.

So cool.

Biarritz

My new favorite town

I love truffles now.

(Eaten at the best lunch ever)

Small towns in La Rioja region

(My new favorite wine).

San Sebastian

Tapas lining the bar in San Sebastian

Marques de Riscal designed by Frank Gehry: Winerie and Hotel

Speaking of wine

Okay so the trip was a complete success. Even though I pretend to speak more French than I really do. (Mr. Broad was still impressed.) And the Euro sucked. And we almost bought a $250 bottle of alcohol. We absolutely loved it.

I'll leave you with a lasting image. Brain. Turns out it was lamb's brain. No idea on the preparation. Don't worry I'll explain it all in posts to come...

Stay tuned!

Oh Paris. Ooh la la

2010-03-17T22:52:00.004-04:00

So I'm going on a little hiatus again. But I'm announcing it so it should be fine right?

Mr. Broad and I decided to go on a spring(ish) vacation.

Paris and San Sebastian! With some other towns in between. Because we can't just go to Paris and Versailles!

We're going for 9 days and our itinerary looks like this:

Saturday-Monday: Paris

Monday-Tuesday: Biarritz

Renting a car and driving to San Sebastian!

Driving onto the WINE REGION that specializes in La RIOJA!

More Basque food and then a flight back to Paris for the following weekend.

Some highlights:

SPAIN- Wineries and tapas.

FRANCE: More wineries and croissants. Oh and the Mona. And the Eiffel...

Similar to our Brazil trip, I'll make sure to update you all when I get back. You know you've grown up when you now book not just your hotel in advance (and not a hostel!) but all of your restaurants for dinner. Yeah. Let's just say Mr. Broad has done his homework. I've been brushing up on my French and we downloaded a France/English dictionary. We're ready.

Au revoir!

PS- Don't worry Ma, we'll be home just in time for Passover.

Peruvians and their Chicken

2010-03-16T20:54:00.007-04:00

We met brother and Dr. K up for good ol' neighboorhood eats awhile ago.

Excuse, excuse... who cares? pictures please??

Oh Peruvian chicken. It's like pretty awesome. Roasted chicken but like so much better and spices! And whatever, I googled a recipe so you can make it. I'm pretty sure Costco should replace their rotisseries with Peruvian chicken.

(And for my DC friends, Pollo Rico is one of Mr. Broad and my favorite spots for such Peruvian chicken. Even Anthony Bourdain went there! I like to think though we discovered it first.)

But New York Peruvian chicken?

Here you go.

Pio Pio

Murray Hill (and other various locations)

I'm not sure if this is the best Peruvian chicken in NYC but it's darn tasty. Oh and good sangria.

We went for the Matador combo. Includes: Chicken, Rice and Beans, Yuca frites, Salchipapa and Avocada Salad

Not bad for four people eh?

"The" peruvian chicken.

Traditional rice and beans

Gotta love fried plaintains or Yuca.

Salchipapa.

Yes. This is french fries and hot dogs. You know that website, this is why you're fat? Here you go. I'm pretty sure this was submitted once. Mainly because it's just a side dish.

Avocado Salad

Did someone say salad?? Thankfully.

Review:

Every now and then you need a good neighborhood eats. Something reliable. Something that you don't have to consult Zagats, Yelp, or Open table for. Something that won't set you back your food budget for the month. Or that you don't have to pop the collar for. Oh wait, we were in Murray Hill... Regardless.

Check out Pio Pio. If you're in Manhattan/Bronx/Queens they have one near you.

And for my DC readers... Pollo Rico, I'm telling you!

Rating: 7.5

Sometimes It's Who You Know

2010-02-10T21:26:00.012-05:00

My cousin who we're going to nickname... Cousin (original right??) is in the restaurant industry so knows all the hotspots. And typically knows a waiter, a busboy, or manager here or there. Let's just say getting a meal with her is kinda awesome.

I bring you... The "Day After" Birthday lunch...

Yes. This is "just" lunch.

A Voce

10 Columbus Circle

With views of Columbus Circle, this Italian restaurant in Time Warner Center does not disappoint. Matter of fact, I think everyone should head there now.

We went there for brunch with expectations of restaurant week. Turns out it was over. Oh well. Regular menu it is!

I don't normally take pics of the bread they serve but it was heavenly. And buttery. And the spread was a mascapone cheese which I'm pretty sure just doesn't get utilized as much as it should.

Starters:

Funghi al forno- roasted trumpet royal mushrooms, fonduta, mache, hazelnuts

Now most of you may know I'm not a fan of the fungi. Clearly this was cousin's order. She raved about it and that's all I know. I'll take her word.

Stracciatella- creamy pugliese mozzarella, pears, speck, arugula

Ya know sometimes there's that one food item you can't stop thinking about. Here ya go. Yes the pears and prosciutto were write-worthy... but the pugliese mozzarella on the bottom. Unreal. Salty and creamy. I still think about that cheese. Matter of fact, I think I'm on a new search for that cheese. Let me know when you find it.

And then came a couple of "Compliments of the Chef" part. Oh Cousin...

Uova in purgatorio- poached eggs, san marzano tomatoes, rosemary, pecorino

Looks like ravioli right?? WRONG. Two poached EGGS that broke the minute you touched them. Genius in that screw with your mind type of way.

Oh Chef, no really I'm flattered...

Cauliflower with raisins and a bit of kick (so I improvise)

Mezzaluna- taleggio filled pasta, butternut squash, brown butter, sage

Cousin ordered this one and hellooo. The butternut squash was a bit more of a garnish on top. The pasta was a bit like ravioli with a nice sweet cheese that wasn't overly stinky. And the brown butter sauce- aah good choice cousin. Good choice.

Whole wheat tagliatelle with duck ragu with duck prosciutto. And other stuff

Hearty. Very hearty. This pasta dish was one of those stick to the ribs situation. Oh and homemade tagliatelle, this goes on the top pasta dishes.

Room for dessert?? Not really. But maybe just a nibble or two. Wait is that chocolate??...

Bomboloni alla Toscana- tuscan doughnuts, bittersweet chocolate

What the description is missing is that these doughnuts were FILLED with creme! Like the Bavarian type. And then the chocolate dipping sauce? Oh it wasn't necessary but I told it.

Crostata- chocolate-caramel tart, fior di latte sorbetto, sea salt

Oh chocolate caramel tart. Caramely, chocolatey. All things good. Possibly a bit too salty though. And the sweet cream sorbetto (the white stuff on top) was uh, a bit flavorless. And it's not creamy like you would think. I know, I know. I had to find one fault in this fab meal. Really Cousin and I were just raving about the doughnuts.

WAIT! There's MORE?! What's this?! Oh Chef, you tease, you flirt! I'm married! But uh, just one bite and Mr. Broad won't mind. Jealous? Oh we won't have to tell him.

Mint Gelati and Lemon Granite

Yes mint gelati. Different for sure. And the lemon granita- probably the best light option with all the heavy food. Just a taste of course.

And a birthday gift. Just for me.

Who knew I still got it :)

Cocoa Powdered Chocolate Covered Almonds.

Aah the perfect make up gift for Mr. Broad on missing out on a phenomenal meal.

Review:

A Voce (pronounced Ah Voh-Chay) is now a top favorite. I know it's gotten rave reviews before but I don't think I realized how you pronounce the restaurant so I didn't exactly put two and two together. Oops. I kinda want to give a public apology right here and say I'm sorry it's taken a year and a half for me to get to you. And Mr. Broad wasn't even there! I read a review and it proclaimed that this restaurant was a bit "corporate" feel. I mean I guess, in that it's probably better to go here on a corporate card... There's a second location to this restaurant in Flat Iron area so maybe we'll try that one next. But only with Cousin.

Rating: 10

Yes, I'm sticking to this one.

PS- Thanks Cousin :)

The Birthday Dinner. Living up to the Hype

2010-02-07T17:13:00.009-05:00

Aah the anticipated birthday dinner.

Union Square Cafe

21 East 16th Street

Friends and family have talked about this restaurant for years. My brother calls this his best meal he's ever had. My cousin who works for Mr. Danny Meyer (soo cool!) used to manage here. Needless to say, it's gotten a lot of PR amongst my family.

Lucky for us, we got a reservation.

This is Danny Meyer's flagship restaurant which I think means it's his first one he opened. They use local ingredients from the farms at the Greenmarket and change their menu out daily.

I went with the "lighter" fruitier appetizer-

Sliced Cara Cara Oranges, Fennel Vinaigrette, Toasted Pine Nuts, Mint and Ricotta Salata

These oranges were a cross between oranges and grapefruits. The ricotta was shaved on top and my only qualms was I wish it was a bigger (or even a scoop?) of ricotta.

Mr. Broad went the hearty route.

Crispy Chicken Livers with Greenmarket Beets and Gorgonzola Dolce

Fried chicken livers. Wow. What a delicacy. Not exactly the chicken liver grandma makes. And definitely not the meal to eat before a cholesterol test. The gorgonzola made the chicken livers taste like wings. Fabulous.

Grilled Lamb Chops Scotta Dita, Potato-Gruyère Gratin and Wilted Insalata Tricolore

Our waiter recommended this entree and I was easily convinced. Comparable to lamb "lollipops "that some people serve at weddings (eh hmm) just so much bigger. And let's not neglect the potato-gruyere gratin. I don't know the adjectives to describe it just have to give it a shout out.

Grilled Smoked Shell Steak, White Beans, Escarole and Salsa Verde

Mr. Broad has now declared that all steak should be smoked.

Anson Mills Mascarpone Polenta with Gorgonzola and Toasted Walnuts

Okay so we weren't going to order any sides but let's just say I had a bit of menu envy seeing other people order it so with our waiter's help we ordered a half side of this and spinach. No pic of the spinach, it was great but this deserves much more of the photography love.

Creamy, cheesy, creamy, and possible grit like but creamy, and with some walnuts in there. This really was the icing on the cake for me.

While Mr. Broad and I don't normally order dessert when we go out (hello, waistline) but it was my birthday. And we WERE at Union Square Cafe.

Warm Dark Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, Framboise-Plumped Dried Cherries and Whipped Cream

I don't normally go for bread pudding but the normal chocolate dessert I'd go to didn't look as good...

Complete with candle on top. And pump cherries. Plenty good but really I think I was too stuffed to really finish it.

Review

Oh Union Square Cafe. You didn't disappoint. Thank you for living up to all the hype and stories I have heard about. Thank you for (even though it's in season) not having turnips and root vegetables. We loved you. And thank you for letting us wear jeans opposed to your counterpart (which is fab but I'm just saying). Lastly, thank you for packing up every morsel of our meal into doggie bags so we could have our second best meal the following day.

Rating: 9

Probably would be a 10 but we sat next to these really loud Jersey stock brokers. "Which bottle of wine should we go with? This is $100 cheaper than the Bordeaux but let's go with the other one" Eww.

The "Other" Macaroons

2010-02-04T21:38:00.008-05:00

Ask any Jewish kid about Passover and the food items you MUST eat-- hands down right after Matzah is Macaroons. I don't know what it is about the overly sweet Manischewitz can of cookies but they're a must have for your 8 day Passover hibernation. (7 days if you are in Israel) Or maybe less if you run out of Matzah.

Can I eat beans? What about rice? Ugh the RULES!?

Fun Fact: Wikipedia has 7 different ways to spell Matzah. Who knew?

But enter the latest trendy sweet craze.

J. Chanceux Macaroons

202A Mott Street

Macaroons.

And these aren't the kosher for passover variety. (Or are they?? Anyone??)

These French macaroons come in a rainbow of colors and flavors that is harder to pick out than a ice cream flavor.

Mr. Broad and I were doing a walk around Chinatown into Soho to East Village and being tourists along the way. And then I came across this window.

Entranced.

Fig. Peanut Butter. Rose water. Vanilla. Mocha. Lavendar. Chocolate. Peach.

Whoa.

Excuse the glare behind the glass display.

And so many more...

Apparently this shop shares the space with an ice cream parlor. Like the ice cream shop closed their section in the back during the winter (Helloooo, people still eat ice cream in the winter!!) and this macaroon place subletted in. I love when people play nice in the sandbox.

Mr. Broad and I got a small box of 6 for $6.

So the French Macaroons. They're pretty small, airy yet not overly sweet. They're good for sure but I have to say the craze definitely revolves around the colors. Ya know that bright blue ice cream with pink sprinkles that you wanted as a 8 year old (or for Mr. Broad, yesterday). This is like that for grown ups.

But don't worry Manischewitz. I still have a place in my heart for your macaroons in April.

PS- But speaking of macaroons... did I mention that Mr. Broad and I are going to FRANCE next month?! Yes the Broads are continuing their travels and hitting up EUROPE... Aah lots to come.

"Beer is proof that G-d loves us and wants us to be Happy"

2010-02-01T22:28:00.006-05:00

Aah Ben Franklin, you got it so right.

I'm watching Anthony Bourdain inhale pork and beer right now while he's in Prague and it's only fitting that I write about this restaurant with the similar menu. Just from Belgium. And It's Daniel Boulud's restaurant.

DBGB

299 Bowery (btwn 1st adn Houston)

Aaah greatness. I've actually been here before for a work lunch. Mr. Broad hates when I say that. He gets Panera and I get well, homemade sausages. Tough life.

This place usually has a wait but lucky for us, Mr. Broad made a reservation. DBGB is known for it's beer list. It's extensive matching a Harry Potter book length (the first one, NOT the fourth one.)

And if you're not careful you may order a $50 GLASS OF BEER?! Thanks to Mr. Broad for aptly stopping the waiter before he fulfilled my order. (It was sweet and tasted like berries!! With aromatic senses! Who saw the price?!)

We started with the "salad" because we wanted to be like healthy.

Iceberg and Blue- tomato, walnuts, bacon bits & herbs

What's up best salad I've ever had.

I know, let's not all get into the merits of iceberg lettuce (Does it have any nutritional value??)

Something about the herbs really made this take on a wedge salad completely shine.

We also shared a sausage. Because you really, really HAVE to. Mind you, they ain't cheap. Apparently $12-15 and some are just ONE link. We went with one of Mr. Broad's favorite type's of sausages.

Boudin Basque - spicy blood and pigs head sausage with scallion mashed potatoes

Yeah it's called blood sausages because well. It's kind of the main ingredient. After the meat and all.

Aaah blood sausage how I love thee. In a thick large slice that was somewhat intimidating we had at it.

BURGERS...

Here's where the whole "You are what you eat" phrase kept creeping through my head. Similar to the sausages, Mr. Boulud has a thing for burgers here. Not cheap burgers, but damn good burgers. And they include fries! So that totally makes up for it, right??

I copied straight from the menu because I didn't want to mess these up...

THE PIGGIE

6 oz beef patty topped with daisy mays bbq pulled pork jalapeno mayonnaise & boston lettuce on a cheddar-cornbread bun with mustard-vinegar slaw, fries

phew

THE FRENCHIE

6 oz beef patty with confit pork belly arugula, tomato-onion compote & morbier cheese on a peppered brioche bun with cornichon, mustard & fries

And a much better angle

This burger sits proud.

And the bucket of fries.

Mr. Broad and I split them down the middle and we both tossed up on our favorites. The BBQ really overshined the burger of the Piggie (not that it was a bad thing!!) and the Frenchie... well ooh lala! The fries were just good ol' Belgium twice fried. (Btw, am I the only one that thinks McDonalds should change up their fries like Dominoes changed up their pizza recipe?? Or Burger King? I mean if you're going to have it your way you may as well have 'em Belgium style).

Review:

A mighty good restaurant, however not cheap. Great beer, great style and probably better to go in bigger groups... to try more sausages of course. Oh and the dessert. I mean we would have tried the dessert but we were full on ... iceberg lettuce.

Rating: 8

Mexican Wrestling and Tacos

2010-01-17T22:30:00.008-05:00

Mr. Broad saw this written up on one of his go-to websites and well, off we went ... Cause every now and then you find an unassuming small restaurant in NYC that totally shocks you and makes you want to come back. But really, tacos for lunch... this isn't such a stretch.

La Lucha

147 Avenue A

It's a taqueria (or a taco place) that does NOT serve burritos as the menu lets you know loud and clear. But who needs burritos when you have tacos like these.

But up first-- the sweet bread they give you to start. It was a bit dry but I'm a sucker for the "extras" that restaurants give you when you don't expect it.

Aah corn on a stick. This is huge "street meat" amongst the Mexican community. Tossed with chipotle mayo (or something like that), cheese and lots of other goodness it's hard to put this one down. Except to wipe your face.

I'm totally going to butcher what we ate but let's just admire the pictures. And if you want to try to figure it out for me, check out the menu.

PS- You can order without the onions if you want...

More of some tacos.

Review: La Lucha-- a small restaurant with character. There's a movie playing on the wall that shows Mexican wrestling. What more can you want? Oh and good, quality food. Cause everyone now and then Mr. Broad needs a break from the Asian food. And burgers. But that's tomorrow's write up...

Rating: 8

And I had to take a picture of how the bill is presented. Just cool right?? See that wrestling theme?

It's Not What You Think.

2010-01-10T21:35:00.006-05:00

Pork is all the rage in New York. I don't think it ever really went out of style personally, but with new preparations items like the belly to the ribs are all over the menus. And not just on the entree list...

Bring on the desserts.

Mr. Broad was running some errands on a random Saturday and came back with a surprise for us to try.

Roni's Sue's Chocolates

PIG CANDY! or chocolate covered bacon

It's rich, crispy, and has the sweet/salty taste to it. Just all around pretty awesome. I think when the Old Testament was written and the part about pigs being unclean and declared unkosher... well I think they would have changed their minds if they knew the possibilities of what you could do with the little oinker. I'm just saying.

Anyway. The picture isn't the prettiest but if you check out the gallery on her website there are plenty of other drool worthy chocolates. Including Bacon Buttercrunch??

I'm telling you, Moses just couldn't see this coming. Sorry Dad :)

Don't Call it a Comeback

2010-01-07T21:16:00.012-05:00

Yaaaaawn.

I'm awake. I'm here. Just been busy, lazy and well, uninspired. Okay, just lazy. But clearly there are three meals in a day so I've been eating and taking pictures. Just not all good ones but I'm here. So I'm going to knock out some posts. Because even if it wasn't a good meal, I guess you should know where NOT to go. Right??

You're welcome.

Spitzer's

101 Rivington Street

Oh trendy cool Lower East Side. Mr. Broad and I wanted to try this at one point so we went in for a late dinner with my brother and Dr. K.

Correction. It was NOT supposed to be a late dinner when we went but due to their lack of reservations.... !@#$%. Grrrrr.

But slightly overcrowded bar with lots of beer choices, okay we can wait. And then our 15 more minutes turned into 30 and then 45. And well, we were too committed to getting a table to throw in the towel.

Oh it was on.

You know how service and frustration can already impact a possibly good meal. That's where we are. We were hungry and not in a good mood.

Hand cut french fries

These were demolished before we could taste if they were good or not.

Calamari Fritters

I think they were good? Oh who can remember. Just look at the picture.

Asparagus Spears- Sesame-panko crusted asparagus spears with citrus soy dipping sauce.

Eh. Sounds better than it was.

Kinda bland.

Gus's Famous Pickles.

Let it be known that I don't like pickles. It's the vinegar thing and I'm not really a vinegar person. Same goes for olives. Or Salt and Vinegar chips (Eww). But check this out. There are ALL different kinds of pickles out there! Who knew?! Okay. Mr. Broad had a smug I told you so smile at my excitement and newfound acceptance of pickles.

Hickory Short Rib burger

Was good but kinda tasted like umm a regular burger.

Kobe beef burger with blue cheese

Brother and Mr. Broad got this one. Only a picture of one of them because Mr. Broad sent his back because it was cold. So that gives you an idea on this one...

Dr. K. got the Pork Chop. No, I mean the Chicken. Oh wait the Skate. Yes, the skate. She tried on the others but they were out of ALL of them.

Skate fish- with some broth and vegetables. And some clams I think.

I'm pretty sure Dr. K had already given up on the meal at this point.

Review:

I've heard it's good by others but I think I'll sit this one out. This place broke Brother's cardinal rule. A burger that you have to order the fries separately?! ... Blasphemy. Maybe I'd go back for the bar and some drinks... or maybe just the pickles. Eh, I'll probably pass regardless.

Rating: 4.5. Mr. Broad said 2 and I'm pretty sure Dr. K would give it in the negative numbers.

PS- This has nothing to do with Eliot Spitzer, but due to our experience it gets the obvious nickname.

Last Stop. Rio!

2009-11-18T20:43:00.013-05:00

Last update of our Brazilian vacation Hello?! Isn't this a NYC food blog?

I think all of those pictures of SUN! SAND! HAMMOCKS! caused the Brazilian gods to be way mad at us. Welcome Clouds. And Rain.

Luckily the last 2 days in Rio were sunny enough for everyone to whip out their bathing suits.

But first some food updates.

Koni. A sushi shop specializing in hand rolls.

This was shrimp tempura with roe. Looks like cheetos right? It's roe.

This is at the famous Cafe Columbia coffeeshop. Lots of tourists for all the sweets in the glass cases.

We settled on a walnut and goat cheese (?) quiche and some fried fritter.

Aah Brazilian steakhouse. Where they try to load you up with lots and lots of carbs, and then loads of servers unleash towards your table and come around with skewers of meat and carve you all things brown and grey.

This was Porcão which I highly recommend.

Have no fear! Mr. Broad, was not about to fall for those carbs! They even had a huge buffet consisting of sushi, fish, pastas, salad (aah, veggies!) But Mr. Broad was ready to get his meat's worth (aside from some sushi). We pushed them aside, turned our card to "Green" and said Sim! Sim! (Yes, Yes for the non-Portuguese speaking tongue)

The servers cutting the meat onto people's plates.

I'm presenting Chicken Hearts.

Sidenote- How did food like ribs become "normal" but chicken hearts became like, totally ewwww??

Well, somebody get out the rebranding campaign. Offal is back.

Lamb, chicken hearts, and other things brown.

I took the "take a bite of meat and move on" technique.

As if there's any room...(There wasn't, but I had to take the picture)

Enough steakhouse. This is Feijoada. (serves 2 but really probably could have served 6).

This dish is as typical Brazilian as American apple pie. (However, it was the first time I saw it at a restaurant so you be the judge).

Starting at the top: pork rinds on some greens, dried sausage, farofa (fried manioc or flour), fried plantains, and an orange. Random.

It comes with rice and some blood sausage stew thing. And some black beans not pictured.

This is what it looked like plated.

But time for some sights...

This is a reading room in downtown Brazil. Those are all books. I was in love.

The famous Christ the Redeemer. So apparently they recommend going to see this statue on a non cloudy day. No kidding.

Still quite a sight. Even if you are Jewish.

A favella in the distance. We could NOT stop talking about City of God. Okay, I could not stop talking about City of God. But like scary crap. Who shoots down a military helicopter?!

And the beaches. The Olympics are all the rage. Note to Rio, you may want to fix the situation mentioned above with the favellas shooting the helicopters thing.

This guy had shrimp that he sold on the beach.

And we tried the national drink on a self guided pub tour.

And this was just the start.

And finally a soccer game. It was pouring rain. POURING. And out came the flares by the opposing fans.

So Brazil. Two weeks in Brazil and I'm ready for more South America. I am now recommending Brazil to everyone. Go and follow our itinerary. And even hit up the samba club. Which there are no pictures of, because DUH tourists. But it was AWESOME. SAMBA! And Brazilian Steakhouse! Okay, I can pass on the Brazilian steakhouse for awhile. A long awhile. But samba music. Getting Mr. Broad to dance to the Samba, is worth the trip back to Brazil for sure.

Oh white man dancing. How I love...

BRAZIL: 10

More Hammocks.. And Sand. Lots of Sand.

2009-11-09T22:51:00.021-05:00

Okay. So Mr. Broad and I were ready to get to Jericoacoara!

In order to get there... the ONLY way was to either:

1) take the local (7.5 hours)

2) take the express bus (4.5 hours)

3) take a helicopter that is about $4K a person.

The express bus it was!

I must admit I was a bit skeptical about where we were going. The only Americans on the bus which felt like it led to nowhere... We even switched busses mid way to a 4 wheel drive bus. I was starting to think the helicopter was the way to go.

And then we got there.

Endless sand dunes on the beach.

Comb the dessert! Oh that's when the Spaceballs quotes started... (We've been JAMMED! The WORST of the them all... Raspberry!) Side note: Rick Moranis- most underrated actor.

The streets of this town are all composed of sand

Lots of water activities.

This is some random guy doing kite surfing.

We went windsurfing. This is not us. Our windsurfs spent a lot of time in the water.

The wind was perfect

And then everyone hikes to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunset.

The sun just gets swallowed up by the ocean. Something about watching a sunset on the equator collapse into the ocean. It's really something.

A close up

Aaah fun in the sand dunes.

Sand skiing

Summersaults

The food was pretty good. Nothing stood out completely and I was getting a lot of "Are you REALLY going to take pictures of everything we eat while on vacation" looks. "Cause we're on vacation and I may not want you to document everything we eat" look.

Aah true.

But Acai. Aah, I like you. You cool, trendy superfood group. When are you coming to New York? Well, I'm sure you're here. But where ARE you?!

This is a cashew. The top part is a fruit which is eaten consumed thoughout Brazil (juices, etc.) The bottom part is the nut you're familiar with. It is poisonous if you eat it right away which was a good warning to Mr. Broad.

At night these guys line the sand. Cheapest mixed drinks we ever had at $2.

No real pictures of wildlife yet but check out this picture of a bird we saw. What IS this? Where's that google app when you need it??

But back at our "villa." Sometimes you just need to relax.

Underneath our cottage on stilts- pure relaxation.

Next up was RIO! Well, first it was back to Fortaleza for a night. And then a flight to RIO! AND because we booked the WRONG BUS... we took a 7.5 hour bus ride back. Stopped in every small town you could think of to pick up everyone's mother. Have no fear, the bus ride included a Lifetime movie, Living Proof, in Portuguese with English subtitles that left me an emotional MESS! Oh I was ready to get off that bus.

That helicopter was looking mighty fine at this point.

But Rio. Next stop... Rio!

A stop over in Fortaleza...

2009-11-07T16:50:00.006-05:00

In order to get to our next destination we needed to head to Fortaleza to catch a bus from there. It's the only way to get to Jericoacara and we're mavericks like that.

We had a connecting flight to Fortaleza since Fernando is really in the middle of nowhere and killed some time in between at Recife airport.

Note to Rio: I know you are hosting an Olympics in like 7 years so perhaps you should take a look at Recife's airport because you have a lot of work to do...

Recife Airport (I know, I'm really stretching with this post here)

The servers at one of their restaurants are on roller skates! How cool!

Introducing Brazil's version of McDonald's.

Bob's Burger.

Mr. Broad had to try some. I watched instead. It looked to be a pretty grey and nasty burger if I do say so myself. Mr. Broad added words like dry and flavorless.

And I had to take a picture of this store because I thought it meant pregnant monkey.

It didn't. It's a type of monkey according to Wikipedia.

Oops.

Yeah we had time to kill. And then we got to Fortaleza. I don't have too many pictures of that city if that should tell you something. That and once we got back from Fernando de Noronha Mr. Broad and I thought how can any other beach stack up?! (Oh we were mistaken after our next destination).

Fortaleza isn't bad by any means- a kinda Miami Beach strip once we got out of the BAD area (Why is that always near the airport?) And their main strip has a nightly street market.

Oh how I love a good street market...

Next up Jericoacoara...

Oh just wait.

Paradise. Or Fernando de Noronha

2009-11-04T21:10:00.013-05:00

May I welcome you to Fernando de Noronha.

They allow 400 people a day come and go on this island. Because it's an ecological wonderland. And Mr. Broad and I are like, the shit.

The flight felt like we were entering some tropical paradise. Ya know that scene in Jurassic Park where they land on the island in a helicopter.

That's how this felt. Except for the lack of dinosaurs. And we were on a plane.

Yes I took a picture from the airplane window. Wouldn't you??

We stayed at a Pousada which is a hotel but more like a bed and breakfast. A nice pousada (Mariluisa spoke English!) where we met some great people. Now some highlights and lowlights on the food.

Shrimp Risotto. Pretty good. Also the LARGEST portion I have ever received. Was it that obvious we were American??

Mr. Broad ordered this one- spicy seafood pasta. Looked better than it was. The pasta was watery. Was it the tomatoes? The pasta not being fully drained? Not sure, but water in your pasta? Never a good thing.

These are Shark Balls. How could you NOT order them.

Note: They are fried balls made from shark. Not... ya know. Taste- Not bad.

Introducing the worst steak. ever. And the worst meal we had on the island.

Note to self: If you are surrounded by ocean. Do not order meat. If I hadn't stopped Mr. Broad from trying to cut the steak I think he would have still been trying to slice it. Ugh. Tough. Came with a lot of side items that weren't that bad (that is fried manioc- which tastes somewhat like a french fry).

We went off the beaten path (is that even possible in Fernando?) with some new friends we met at our Pousada. Go Canada! An ecological restaurant that specialized in Lobster. Uh yes please.

Again a meal that serves two people. Luckily this decision was easier for Mr. Broad and I.

Large and impressive.

Our new Canadian friends went with the lobster and shrimp (I think?) moqueca. They confirmed it was tasty but I think they had secret menu envy.

And Acai. (pronounced Ah-sah-ee)

It's a fruit that is now pretty popular and somewhat trendy superfood. The new pomegranate if you will. Tastes like... a slushy? Best with bananas and granola, definitely refreshing. Not the last Acai I ate on our trip...

And because why not. Mr. Broad walked by a Malagueta pepper plant. So guess who tried it. Oh the reaction was priceless.

But really. While the food prices were high, we were on an island. The real higlights was not the food but rather the views. Oh the views.

The highlights. Of the sights

We went snorkeling in this cove one day. Only 25 people allowed at one time. To preserve it and stuff. Mr. Broad was tempted to pee in this part of the ocean. Verdict is still out if he accomplished his mission.

We may not surf. But we can take pictures of it.

There main roads (there are like 2) are paved but the majority of the streets are composed of dirt. And rocks. Not like pebbles but large rocks. And boulders. That can kill you. So this is their mode of transport on the island, buggys.

We did a buggy tour and saw every 22 beaches around the island. Our cut, built, stoic, speedo wearing Brazilian tour guide took us around on his buggy. And he rode a sting ray Steve Irwin style while pointing out sea turtles.

Bad Ass.

*Took a boat tour around the island to see dolphins. Lots and lots of dolphins. More snorkeling. More views.

In case you want a break to go to church

It's like a Coronha commercial.

Overall Fernando went like this:

*Snorkel. Lay in a hammock. Drink crappy beer. Check out another beach. Snorkel. Drink more beer. Hammock. Meet people from your Pousada even though they don't all speak English. Drink lots of beer with them. Oh and apply sunscreen. Lots and lots of sunscreen.

In some order.

Note: Mr. Broad had to eventually tell me to end this blog post. Otherwise I could have kept posting pictures. But there are more. Lots and lots more. Because not all beaches look alike.

Check in at the airport.

Less than 24 hours in Olinda

2009-11-02T21:10:00.013-05:00

From New York to Dulles, VA to Sao Paolo to Rio to Recife. We got there.

Man, I love airplanes. What we do in order to use up airline miles.

"Olinda is the Greenwich Village for Recife." Hmm, Lonely Planet you have intrigued us.

Recife is a city in the northeastern Brazil (pp 2 million) and within it is a town called Olinda (pp 400K).

It really was a go between city before we could get to Fernando de Noronha because we. were. not. going. on an airplane again. For another day.

While we were really only there less than 24 hours, we did get some meals in and observe some sights.

Just in time for dinner on a Saturday night (Mr. Broad totally planned that one) we found a restaurant from his savvy internet research-- Oficina do Sabor. Ooh atmosphere.

PS- Thank you Google for your translator.

We ordered the pumpkin stew with shrimp and lobster for two. Presentation was Top Chef quality. There was a cheese melted on top too. Sounds interesting but it really worked. Or we were just hungry and lethargic.

Note: Pumpkin and Brazil. We noticed it a lot throughout Brazil; thoughts anyone??

Another note: Agreeing on a dish with Mr. Broad is harder than you would think.

Next up we walked the cobblestone streets. Plenty of history in this colonial town dating back to the 1500, it's now a UNESCO site. Oh and there's a huge Carnival there to rival Rio's in February.

However, we found to the street food section. It was as if Mr. Broad's name was being called...

First up a stop at an Afoxe club/bar. Man, we're so cultured.

Then as if it was late night 3am pizza (or 11pm in our case), Mr. Broad found what he was looking for.

Street meat.

Presenting... Acaraje. Something about a stuffed bean pate, shrimp, and lots of spices. And fried. This $2 dish below was easily Mr. Broad's favorite item he ate all 2 weeks.

Sorry for the spoiler.

The next morning we tried the ever popular Tapioca. Not exactly the pudding variety familiar in the dairy aisles in the supermarket.

It is a stark white pancake that Brazilians use and put either sweet or salty toppings on them. Eaten like a taco or crepe. This was a dried beef one with cheese.

Others not photographed included Chocolate and cheese; and Dulche de Leche with Coconut

Not bad, just a bit flavorless.

And sights.

You can see Recife in the distance. Pretty cool...

A church

Take a picture of a random Brazilian and you feel ohso National Geographic...

And again.

But seriously, I loved Olinda but it did not remind us of Greenwich.

People we met who spoke English: 0

Languages the church tour guide spoke: Spanish or Portuguese

Languages Mrs. Broad speaks: English

Worst tour of a church if you do not speak Spanish or Portuguese: Olinda

Number of times Mrs. Broad tush was pinched in the Afoxe bar: 2

Where the kids like to drink on a Saturday night: On the streets as if they tailgating

Number of times Mrs. Broad tripped walking up the cobblestone trips: infinite

Brazil... And we're back!

2009-11-01T13:24:00.012-05:00

What an amazing vacation! We saw numerous gorgeous beaches, lots of underwater wildlife, and accomplished plenty of relaxing.

I decided to blog about our experience over the next several posts and show you some of our food adventures (or misadventures...) but wanted to give you some highlights first.

So here you go, a fast recap of superlatives and stats.

Days on vacation: 16

Pictures taken: 1,190

Books read: Mrs: Broad- 6 (I ran out of books) Mr. Broad- 1/4 of a book. To his credit the book is called Gotham, History of New York til 1898 and is quite dense.

Bottles of sunscreen used: 2

Best reaction to Mr. Broad's pale skin when we arrived: 2 Brazilians touched his arm

Best overheard quote: "Man, if you want some good weed, you should come to the States dude."

Mrs. Broad's favorite quote to her: "You look like you are Brazilian because you are so beautiful." -a Rio taxi cab driver.

Mrs. Broad's favorite quote said to Mr. Broad after he was speaking Spanish to a Brazilian: "Uh, I don't speak Spanish, I speak English or Portugese." Said in English. Right...

Number of beach vendors that walk up and down the beaches of Rio: hundreds

Best thing to buy from a beach vendor : A piece of cheese grilled on a stick with oregano

Weirdest thing to buy from a beach vendor: A lace tablecloth

Number of one piece bathing suits we saw: 1

Worst Portuguese-English translation or When you should do more than just spell check: Explanation of a ruin was,"The General's daughter liked hanging out here and it put her at ease with her 'Dawns Syndrome.'"

Acronym that needs redefining: GLS -- For Gays, Lesbians, and Sympathizers. Umm, Brazil maybe we change that to Supporters??

Best jobs of people we met: A tie with a 1) Snowboarding photographer from Switzerland and 2) a guy that worked for the Brazilian FBI (the equivalent) policing the Amazon for drug smuggling from Columbia.
Uh, wow.

Best place to see a soccer game: Maracana Stadium. There is a moat around the field so fans don't charge after the game.

Worst place to wear a black top to: Maracana Stadium when it's the opposing team's colors.

Number of Phillies' fan we met: 2

Number of Yankees fans we met: 0 (Ugh! Seriously?)

Weirdest thing we ate overall: ??? You can be the judge in upcoming posts....

And the sights. Who can give a superlative to this?!

Olinda- a cobblestone town within Recife.

One of the many beaches from Fernando de Noronha

See that trail... that's how you get down there. Plus two ladders that go straight down 200 feet. Plus a lot of praying. A whole lot of praying.

Hundreds of dolphins we saw!

More beaches from Fernando de Noronha (there are lots of these but I'll try to cut them down on the blog updates). Notice how deserted they are...

Best place to watch a sunset- Jericoacara

Might as well ski down the sand dune...

And Rio de Janeiro

Scene from Ipanema Beach

Lots of coconut drinks on the beach

A poor shot of a favella

We didn't stay here, the Copacabana Palace

And of course, the famous Christ the Redeemer

More to come, don't you worry...

The Girl From Ipanema

2009-10-16T11:37:00.003-04:00

Well I am OFF.

A trip that has been planned for about 11 months (Airlines Miles how I heart thee!!). Before the Olympics and World Cup make it like totally popular. (because no one has heard of Rio before this??)

Mr. Broad and I are taking our foodie adventure skills to BRAZIL.

So have no fear. I'll be back. In November. Enjoy Halloween, The New York City Marathon, Day Light Savings and all those other things that happen the last two weeks in November.

Things I'm excited about in Brazil:

The dolphins in Fernando De Noronha

The sand dune beaches in Jericoacoaro. Here is their main website which took forever to load.

And RIO. We are going to this RIO. NOT this Rio. HAVE you seen City of God? Whoa.

Along the way I'm SURE we'll have plenty of pictures of food. Brazilian steakhouses, Brazilian nuts, and drinking from one of those coconuts. Yes. Definitely a coconut or two.

And on that note. While I have been signing my new/old favorite Barry Manilow classic in honor of the Rio beaches.

I found this I'd leave you with:

Or you can compare it to the original.

Pictures of the boring turkey sandwich. Or Lunch.

2009-10-08T07:31:00.013-04:00

B Bar and Grill

40 E 4th Street

Because the neighborhood Cosi is getting overrun as NYU's dining hall. And sometimes you want (if you can) to have an actual sit down lunch; Nikki and I went to B Bar.

Note; this lunch is over 2 different visits. Which means more pictures! And it was good. It's just a boring post. I promise.

Homemade Guacamole and Chips

It wasn't exactly your mexican place but had a wide variety of familiar cuisines. Including the familiar guac and chips. And plus guac is really like American food now isn't it? It was a nice quality serving of both chips and guac; and well I specifically liked that they had spread the guac spread throughout the layers of the chips.

Calamari Salad

The calamari was a bit too greasy and crunchy for my liking. But it was a "salad"...Uh, I guess?

Squash and Zucchini Sandwich with Red Pepper Cream cheese

Exactly like it sounds. A large sandwich that doesn't exactly look so pretty on the inside... but interesting flavors that makes up for a nice sandwich.

And the inside.

Why am I obsessed with taking pics of the inside of sandwiches? It's so not pretty.

Prosciutto and Mozzarella Panini

Nikki ordered this one; she said it was easy to eat and "not as rubbery" as some prosciutto.

Roast Turkey Club

Kind of your typical club sandwich. Large, and filling for a lunch.

Review:

B Bar is a good run of the mill lunch place. Pretty average with a very nice outdoor eating area. Ya know with atmosphere and stuff. Pretty affordable if you are getting a sandwich or salad (around the $10-12 range). But overall, just nice to get a sit down lunch. When you can sit down for lunch.

Rating: 6.5

Don't go all Jason and the Argonauts on me now...

2009-10-05T22:25:00.013-04:00

It was date night. Yes, kinda similar to how Mr. Broad and I go out to dinner normally but this way we classify it "date night" so it justifies it to us if we want to go somewhere nicer or have an extra glass of wine or three ... ya know, it's okay.

Greek?! But I don't know if I'm in the mood for Greek
What exactly is a Greek mood?
I don't know how but I eventually convinced Mr. Broad to go this route.

Okay. Secret: I've been to this restaurant before a couple years back and had a fab meal.

Snack Taverna
63 Bedford Street

Mr. Broad and I perused the Greek wine list as if we spoke the language and blah blah blah, Aphrodite, Hercules and George Stephanopoulos.
Except for Medusa. She sucks. Worst Greek character ever.

Sauteed Calamari Gigantes Garlic Lemon and Cilantro
Gigantes are beans. Like really large beans. Hence the name. And they rock.
The calamari was awesome too- not fried- but absorbed the sauce. Not sure if this was really authentic "Greek" but we enjoyed it. My complaint. The size. The gigante beans really made the bowl feel that much smaller.
And the lemon.

Striped Sea Bass over a Bed of Tomatoes and Asian eggplant.
I went for the special. Holy large portion. Okay. This made up for the calamari. And the fish, left with the skin on that you eat, had reminded me of the fresh variety we had while in Thailand.
And the eggplant and tomatoes. Quality and seasonal.

And a close up look to the veggies.

Oven Roasted Leg of Lamb - with Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, Olives, Rosemary and Zucchini Fritter
The lamb was nice and tender. Mr. Broad commented it was lukewarm instead of hot. I tasted the rosemary throughout but I think the temperature really threw Mr. Broad for a loop. The zucchini fritters were good, crunchy and if I do say so had more fillings than an Applebee's crab cake (If they were to serve crab cakes of course).

Review
Snack Taverna wasn't as good as I may have remembered it the first time around. A good meal for sure but I don't know maybe I'm a bit tainted now cause we live in New York and I have a lot more restaurants in context. Yes, confession: I've become more of a snob. Oh what am I talking about, I'd still go back. But plenty of other places to try a second time around before that... And for our next Greek splurge; I think we'll stick to our neighborhood of Astoria. A bit more authentic for all things spanikopita and feta.

Rating: 7

Okay! So tell me! Who's your favorite Greek character? Ancient or modern?
Nia Vardalos anyone?

Moving to Park Slope? And Sad Burgers...

2009-10-03T16:44:00.012-04:00

Thanks everyone for the recommendations! And sorry for the delay!

I've been working on some BIG stuff for the blog. BIG! HUGE! And finding World Peace and stuff!

Pretty much ever since moving to NYC, you realize people are OBSESSED with where to live next. No matter how much they may like current digs; you're looking for your next deal, more cabinet and a washer/dryer IN your unit. Aah, well one could wish.

And because Mr. Broad read up about Park Slope of the tree-lined streets and the Brownstones giving it the Cosby Show feel...

Well, it was time to check out the Park Slope for our possible next move.

Sidecar

560 5th Avenue

Yeah I realize that reviewing one restaurant shouldn't dictate whether or not we move to an area... But work with me here. A large open restaurant with an open kitchen; it had a warm feel to it. But perhaps from eating at too many restaurants in Manhattan, may I add they really could have utilized more table space. About 8 tables total?? Is this what Park Slope is like!? Just lots of open space and no tables squeezed in??

We get a table and place our order right away.

Bean Dip with tortilla chips and bacon

Mr. Broad asked the waitress if we should get the dip with bacon. Really?? Like there was any question? Mr. Broad suffering from a pretty bad cold and lack of smell, couldn't taste much of the dip. However after discussing, I couldn't really taste much of it either. The bacon really overpowered the dip and the bean portion while creamy in texture. Bland.

I went for a basic Cheeseburger. (Cheddar- the only way to go)

A good value at $10 (included fries)... but don't be fooled by the picture. The bun is not fully on top of the burger creating the illusion that it was much larger than it was. In actuality, it was a burger that looked like it got manhandled too many times into a thin pounding of meat.

And medium rare? I think not.

Even the burger looks like it's frowning.

Bahn - De

Classic Vietnamese sandwich with marinated grilled pork chops with pate, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and mayo on baguette.

Quite possibly the largest sandwich we've ever seen; it trumped my burger-- both in taste and size. Lot of flavors going on here which was perfect because half of this was coming home for lunch the next day.

Review:

Mr. Broad and I talked about Park Slope. Did we like what we saw? Eh. We stood on the platform not thoroughly impressed -- mainly with the restaurant.

Rating: 5 (Mr. Broad re-read my post after first thinking it was a '6' but saw the sad burger proclaimed it a 4)

And then in a fury to text a friend about Park Slope, I grabbed my second true love out of my purse. Scramble, Fiddle...

Dropped it.

Park Slope. Fail.

And now. That's how I feel about Park Slope.

We're branching out...

2009-09-19T21:54:00.004-04:00

Well it's time to make the blog a little more interactive.
When Mr. Broad and I go out, we go based off of recommendations from favorite sites like New York Times, Chowhound, and fellow food blogs.

But now it's time to hear from you!

I've been getting recommendations from friends and readers to check out what they hear is the new "hotspot" (ie- food network, travel channel, etc.).

SO for once a month (or so) we're going to go to a restaurant that YOU chose.
Criteria:
-Affordable (eh hmm no Per se unless you are funding that and if so I'll send you our address)
-No chain restaurants.
-Preferably nowhere near Times Square although we'll travel to an outer borough given it's quality food.

So come one come all. Where should we go?? Post in comments or email me...

thebroadsnyc@gmail.com

Since When Did I Become a Museum Person??

2009-09-14T22:08:00.013-04:00

It was a rainy day one Saturday so Mr. Broad and I decided to take advantage of it by going to a museum. It's funny because we used to live outside of DC yet I can't tell you the last time we went to a museum. (Spy Museum 2004). And yet here in New York, we became trendy, hipster and cool and went to TWO art museums over two weeks! The New Museum; which definitely had the modern art/took-cues-from-national-geographic-magazine-if-you-get-what-I-am-saying/tribal art display that made even Mr. Broad blush... (uh WHOA!)

and finally, The MoMA. But first up lunch. And then maybe some of the museum because I'm running out of food pics and I want to make this post longer.

Cafe 2: MoMA
11 West 53 Street (2nd street)
*Admission required for entry

Operated by the same restaurant group as our boy Danny Meyer (Wait, I thought David Chang was your boy?!). I don't remember too many museum restaurants. I think most are of the chicken tender and the grey hamburger variety.

But not here.
Welcome to a nice upscale Italian meal where you can get freshly pressed paninis, charcuterie plates, and cheese boards.

Arugula Salad Duck Proschiutto, sekle pear, Humboldt fog goat cheese, candied pecans, sherry vinaigrette
Surprise, surprise not my first time with duck proschiutto. A bit tougher than the normal pig one but still mighty tasty. And give it up for the figs. I created the perfect bite with some goat cheese, a pecan, and a little fig.

Rigatoni Italian Sausage, Tomato, Parmigiano
I think our recent Italian venture turned Mr. Broad onto quality Italian. Um, hello.
Something about the sauce. A creamy, peppery, tomato-ey, cheesy goodness that tasted too good to eat for lunch. Oh and little bits of sausage.

Yeah, yeah. The food was good. We'd def go back and share a cheese board or so. Or maybe hit up the upscale/jacket-tie required (or optional?) Modern restaurant. Or not. But let's go onto the actual museum.

Because I had my camera with me I took some (many) pictures of the art. Mr. Broad questioned my pictures- what are you going to do with all these pictures?! I don't know but I just couldn't stop clicking. SO. Aren't you in luck :) Welcome to the MoMA.

The MoMA is Modern Art.... and let's just say the "Modern" art spans quite a line. First up one of the performance art rooms. You walk into a room and there is a black line all around the room. Until you go closer. And you realize... It a height chart.
Clearly Mr. Broad and I participated. (Spoiler Alert! You'll see a video of it at the bottom)

This was made with cigarettes. If you are going to kick the habit, you might as well... recycle??

See???

Because what's a Modern art museum without a little Andy Warhol.

The poster seen in every college dorm room. But it's the real thing. I was mesmerized.

Modern Art means every now and then you think... wtf?!

Or it makes you ponder. Hmm, what IS art?
I'm so pensive.

Yes, Mom I am still at the museum...

So yes. Apparently Monet's water lillies will be exhibiting there soon. And because Mr. Broad and I spent no less than 4 hours at the MoMA (because when you see one painting with a vagina or one steel aerodymanic chair you do NOT see them all...) we may have to go back.

Perhaps to just find my name on the height chart...

Just Another Tuesday Night

2009-09-09T21:48:00.010-04:00

It was a random Tuesday night and Mr. Broad was out of town and I was working late. A coworker who I am going to refer to Nikki was in town and we decided to do dinner.

Let's go somewhere fun! New Yorkian! Cool! Good food! oh and Fun!

It was Tuesday night so we went a walkin'. Because it was a Tuesday night afterall we could eat wherever! Right? WRONG. Oh I love New York....

Up first, DBGB. Time: 8:30pm

Me: Hello-- Table for 2?

Hostess: Okay, what's your name? We have an hour and 45 minute wait.

me: [maintaining uber coolness and hipness as if this was expected]: Thank you, can you write our name down?

We strut away in shock.

Next: Balthazar. Time: 8:45pm

Me: Hello, Table for 2?

Hostess: Alright we're looking at about an hour wait. Would you like to stay?

Me: [checking out the patrons to see if they are famous] thank you can you write our name down?

We walk away defeated (on both the restaurant and celeb spotting). on a TUESDAY NIGHT.

It was almost time to resort to Gray's Papaya (hot dogs) when Nikki comes up with a novel idea.

Seriously this was getting intense. And stressful.

Mercer Kitchen

99 Prince Street

Time: 8:50pm

Table for 2?

hostess: where would you like to sit?

Aah bless you Mercer Kitchen. We sit at their "communal table" right near the kitchen. The kitchen is open and you can see the hustle and beauty of their cooking. Yet at the same time (was it the lighting??) it was incredibly peaceful.

Sweet Pea Soup with Vegetables and Croutons.

Presentation was really pretty here. Ya know when they have the soup portion in a beaker and show you all of the "dry" ingredients in the bowl before it gets swallowed by the soup that they pour on top.

Tomato and Sourdough Bread Soup with Olive Oil (or something like that)

This was one where the description sounds better than it is. It wasn't horrible clearly but it was tomato soup with some chunks of soggy bread in it. Uh, the bread was in the soup. Wouldn't it naturally be soggy?? Yes, yes however I was expecting them to recently add the bread in giving it a bit more taste and texture within the soup. Oh and basil. Lots of basil.

Roast chicken with fresh beans, baby carrots and mashed potatoes.

You know that saying, "You can judge the quality of a restaurant by their roast chicken?" No really I think it's a saying. Anyway, this holds true.

Salmon with corn pudding (and probably another adjective)

I mean, clearly you know why I ordered this one. Hellooo corn pudding. Hello indeed. It was soft, creamy, sweet, creamy, buttery, and did I mention creamy? I would try to get just a side of this. Oh and the salmon wasn't half bad either. A bit undercooked but actually how I prefer it. What can I say, Mr. Broad rubs off on me.

And dessert. Because we had to.

Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Cocoa Bena Brittle, Toffee Crunch Ice Cream

Ain't she a beaut?! We admired it a little before we dug in spoon first. The chocolate cake oozed of undercooked molten goodness. The ice cream had sweet but not overpowering toffee pieces with pieces of toffee underneath. And the brittle. Eh. A little too bitter for my liking but it didn't matter.

Review:

So we may have walked a couple more blocks than necessary. Put our names down on more restaurants to just feel cool. But the end result was wonderful. Perfectly yummy. Jean-Georges is the master behind this greatness and other New York favorites like Perry St and Spice Market and some Vegas classics. Actually after doing some research, he has quite a restaurant empire, and even a blog! Not a cheap meal and likely not typical for a Tuesday. But we're in New York. If we are given hour waits at restaurants. Then by damnit I'm ordering dessert. And on that note. I'm definitely coming back. Maybe on a Friday night. But definitely with a reservation.

Rating: 9

Because it isn't all about the food....

A Year Ago Today...

2009-08-31T18:33:00.020-04:00

Mr. Broad and I got hitched! And a day after that (because I was super crazy) I moved to New York City. As I told my father, it was the best going away party ever...

Mr. Broad and I have big plans for our first anniversary. In 6 weeks we are going to Brazil! Don't worry you'll hear plenty about that. But time to celebrate in the meantime.

And on a "smaller" scale we decided to go out for a nice sushi dinner. Mr. Broad and I haven't found a good quality sushi place. Suggestions?? And because we have yet to get a gift card to Masa (at $500 a person I'm not holding my breathe...) we went to one that is just as good and more practical. And actually Frank Bruni, New York Times food critic, in his last post commented on it as some of the best sushi to get in the city.

It's been a year and Mr. Broad and I are so ahead of the times here.

Sushi Yasuda

204 E 43rd Street

We sat down and the attentive waiter asked us if we would like to pick out our own sushi or would we like the chef to plan our meal for us. Umm. I looked at Mr. Broad and gave myself a "Just try it" pep talk. We went with the omakase (chef's choice!) option. We gave the waiter a run down on our likes but moreso our dislikes. Me- no mushrooms. Mr. Broad- no oysters! (He's allergic.) And definitely no cream cheese. Our waitress laughed. Have no fear, this was definitely no place that served a salmon/cream cheese roll.

So what did the chef provide us with??

Flash fried soft shell crab

On the side was green onions and a sweet sauce to dip it in. Or sea salt and lemon if you preferred. Oh we were in business.

Next up sashimi.

From top left to right.

Clams. Yellow tail. Fatty tuna.

(2nd row) Scallops. And Yellow Tail (again).

Holy freshness. This was awesome. I put on my brave face and went for the clams first. A bit tough but pretty good. The scallops were a bit on the crunchy side surprisingly. They were from a different part of the scallop than what I am normally used to. Mr. Broad was way into this. The yellow tail was hands down amazing. Followed by the fatty tuna which made Mr. Broad close his eyes so he could savor it all.

And here we go. Sushi.

Two of each, starting at the top left.

Eel, Mackarel, Red Snapper (imported from Japan), Super fatty Tuna

Bottom Rows- Sea urchin, What WAS that?? Mr. Broad informed me later Tasmanian Trout, and Yellow Tail

Okay. While I have far graduated from the california rolls of sushi I was a bit nervous for some of these rolls but tried them all. And could not get over how much I enjoyed every. last. one.

Starting with eel. Really?? I equate eels to snakes. And snakes scare me. So I don't like eel. Well, wrong. I love eel. I HEART eel. Note. I still do. not. like snakes.

Other highlights included: the mackerel (it's not fishy!), the "super" fatty tuna. Apparently the tuna is done in grades and this was a Grade A. No really, that's what they told us.

The sea urchin- was one of Mr. Broad's favorite and from what we were told it's soo good that they export this sea urchin to Japan!

Okay we get it it's quality stuff.

And another picture of the pretty fish. Don't they all look alike after awhile?

The waitress stopped by again. "Would you like the chef to prepare you a couple more rolls? Maybe 2 - 3?" It was like my Jewish grandmother trying to get us to eat more chopped liver. Oh chef. We'll take two.

Artic Char in the front. And in the back. Sardines. I gave a gulp but my brain pushed my stomach ahead to try it. So I tried a bite of the sardine and it wasn't that bad. I still gave the other bite to Mr. Broad though. But the artic char, which might I remind you is not salmon. Was just awesome.

We were completely stuffed but I might have told our waitress that it was our anniversary. And nothing like blowing out a candle on your anniversary.

Kiwi, pineapple, and payapa.

Hmm does even the fruit taste better??

Review

Well, Mr. Broad and I finally found a top notch sushi restaurant. The fish was extremely fresh and the sticky rice was like little pillows that stuck to the fish. Mr. Broad couldn't stop talking about the uni (sea urchin) and I now have a whole new appreciation for eel. If we were to go back- which we will- we'll definitely ask for a reservation at the sushi bar. But we'll still let the chef pick our dinner, without a doubt. As long as they hold the mushrooms.

Rating 10

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh... and because we decided to keep the night going strong, we went to a tequila bar. Talk about really pushing myself to try something new. Tequila and I don't get along that well. Outside of the occasional margarita, there was this one night when we got into a really bad "fight." I was in Atlantic City and let's just say that black escalade never knew what it had coming. And no I'm not referring to driving.

Mayahuel

304 E Sixth St.

This is one of those bars where everyone wants a table to sit. And because of it, there was a 30 minute wait. We finally get in (after a quick starter drink) and survey the menu. I'm easily overwhelmed. There are some food items but really the main highlights revolve around tequila. I let the waitress know that I would like something fruity. And floral. That's my way of saying girly.

Mr. Broad went straight for a tequila which came with a shot of sangrita. Sangrita is pretty much like non alcoholic bloody mary that cleans your palette. Mr. Broad was a fan all around.

My drink was amazing. And quickly one drink turned into two... And tequila and I made amends.

Review: After talking with the bartender I exposed my tequila naiveity and told him I'm only aware of Petron. Why is it not on the menu I asked?

Bartender: "Because we don't serve crap tequila." Well said. A schooling on the different varieties of tequila later ("If you want an awful hangover with a crazy night- go get yourself some Cuerva), Mr. Broad and I were big fans of this bar.

Rating: 10

Until finally one of these were uh, maybe ordered later at night.

Oh corn dog, How I heart thee.

PS- Happy Anniversary Mr. Broad!! To my favorite eater of all things weird. I love you.

When You're Here, You're Family...

2009-08-30T20:22:00.010-04:00

If there is one cuisine that hasn't gotten a fair representation from Mr. Broad and me, it's Italian.

I'm a fan of Italian, but Mr. Broad has other thoughts-- he equates Italian food to Olive Garden.. and well, the unlimited salad bowl. However, we're in New York. You can eat out for 365 nights a year without eating at the same restaurant twice AND without going to a chain restaurant.

And Mr. Broad and fresh homemade pasta, proscuitto, sausages... Well, that's a whole other different class of Italian food.

L'artusi

228 West 10th Street

This place had the good ol' critic's pick rating and all of our research showed we would have a good night. We got there and the atmosphere pointed to a trendy/hip scene but have no fear, Mr. Broad and I fit in just fine. We're really adjusting to New York just fine.

The menu was separated out in six sections that roughly translated to appetizers, fish, entrees , pasta, vegetables and side dishes. Our waiter explained to us that you should order one from each section. Whoa. What is this tapas? Don't tapas typically have cheaper prices??

We ignored his advice but decided to order a couple things to share.

Hamachi with Fennel, lemon

We tried for the scallops but they were already sold out for the night. Grr. The hamachi, however, was a very welcome order. A small plate of fresh fish on top of some creme (what was that??) with a small fennel salad on the side. The presentation was clearly part of the price.

Bruschetta

I was a little disappointed that Mr. Broad wanted this dish. There were so many amazing items on the menu, we've had brushetta before, let's get something different!! (Oddly, yes, this came from me...) But out neighbors at the restaurant ordered it and well, Mr. Broad had big eyes.

Wow. The fresh tomatoes were soaked in olive oil and put on a thick crust of bread. It was the type of brushetta that did better with a fork and knife. I exclaimed to Mr. Broad- "Wow, you forget that these are tomatoes on top and that they are good for you!". Mr. Broad politely reminded me how much olive oil they were soaked in.

Too good and too pretty to not take another picture...

Orchiette with lamb sausage and swiss chard

Oh how I love orchiette pasta. This is one of those pastas I haven't been familiar with until I came to New York. It looks like small shells but tastes like... well, amazing pasta! And added with lamb sausage and the swiss chard, it all came together very, very well. Mr. Broad and I had one of those conversations where we were kinda joking/kinda serious about licking the bowl. But really, I think we were more serious.

Hanger Steak with crispy potatoes and Salsa Bianco

Then came our steak. In the center was a big glob of what looked like sour cream until we tasted it. Definitely homemade, we consulted with our waiter who told us it was creme fraiche with horse radish mixed in. And it was good. The potatoes were a bit too salty but the creme fraiche cut that salt nicely. And the meat was a nice red medium-rare just like we like it.

Review:

L'artusi was a wonderful welcome back to Italian food for Mr. Broad and myself. A restaurant that had some "scene" to it but the food fit the atmosphere just perfectly. We have already talked about going back with friends or well just ourselves. If not to try the scallops. The service was excellent and because the waiter noticed our picture taking and thought I was doing a serious write up (I like to convince myself that's why) he hooked us up with two glasses of dessert wine which was a nice ending to a true Italian evening.

Rating: 10 (Mr. Broad agreed with me and did not think I was inflating this. So there).

Just like Mom used to make. Kinda.

2009-08-23T22:30:00.011-04:00

It's funny in New York you can get a restaurant around anything. I've blogged about a store dedicated to Rice Pudding and even Macaroni and Cheese. Now what about all things Peanut Butter. We got it.

Because only in NYC, can they take the cheap PB&J sandwich, include potato chips/carrot sticks and charge $7 for it. Marketing rocks I'm telling you!

Peanut Butter & Co.

240 Sullivan Street

Mr. Broad and I wanted simple and well, you can't get any more simpler than this! Their menu is mainly varieties of peanut butter sandwiches, intense peanut butter desserts, and yes some "regular" deli sandwiches. But why bother.

I became a deer in headlights looking at the menu, completely overwhelmed and spurted out the first thing that I could see. If given a second chance I think I'd spring for the Elvis.

Dark Chocolate Dreams Sandwich: Chocolate Peanut Butter and cherry jam, stuffed with shredded coconut. I'm telling you they put a snazzy name on it and added coconut. It was good, however I could have used more of the chocolate flavor. Couldn't I always...

A close up with the coconut

Might Maple

Obviously Mr. Broad had no problem narrowing down his sandwich. Peanut butter with bacon. He enjoyed it and mentioned that the bacon had crystallized sugar. uh, YUM.

The anatomy of a peanut butter bacon sandwich.

Review:

It's PB&J but jazzed up. What's not to like?? Mr. Broad mentioned that the shop definitely catered more to females. True.. women do get into the speciality shops. But the shop really has something for everyone. All of the sandwiches come with a bag of chips and some carrot sticks. A cute touch if I do say so. And the sandwiches are actually pretty large but not as thick as I would have liked. Cause I really can smear on some peanut butter. They really thought of everything here on this menu. A pregnant lady sandwich (PB with pickles) or ants on a log (PB on celery with raisins)... Creativity at it's peak. They of course sell their own peanut butter with lots of varieties (white chocolate PB, spicy PB...). I'm only surprised they don't offer a peanut butter sandwich with no crusts. All in due time.

Rating: 6.5

Maybe I should read the manual to do this restaurant justice

2009-08-23T11:08:00.022-04:00

If you do know how to take better food pictures please feel free and let me know.

Anyway it's not often that I write up about a restaurant more than once.

Okay except for maybe him. There have been only a handful of restaurants that Mr. Broad and I have gone to a second time because there really are so many options here.

BUT we had Mr. Broad's father and sister in town and we wanted to take them to a restaurant that we had already tried and make the grade.

Perilla

9 Jones Street

Last time we went to Perilla, we had imbibed quite a bit beforehand. We knew it was good but it was time Mr. Broad and I really appreciated the food and not let the alcohol talk.

Mr. Broad's sister had a keen observation that the descriptions were long when really she was getting steak. I guess that's part of the charm, knowing the specific fresh ingredients all part of the dishes.

The place itself is a small typical Greenwich Village restaurant where your tables are close to your neighbors. And it's dark. So that's my excuse why my pictures look like crap. And I thought Apple products would solve everything but alas. There is only so much "enhancing" you can do on an already crappy picture.

Raw Hamachi: Fresh water chestnuts, laksa leaf, crispy taro & spicy passion fruit dressing

The fresh hamachi was on the bottom with the taro chips on top. This dish was extremely refreshing... the only complaint I think was that it was too small...

Duck Meatballs

mint cavatelli, water spinach & quail egg

This was slightly spicy but extremely tasty. A meatball for each of us with the sauce just extremely decadent, we all were dunking our table bread in it.

Striped Bass special.

It wasn't on their menu and I forgot all the other ingredients but it looks damn good and tasted even better. Don't you just love plating and what they do with the sauce bottles?

Roasted Duck Breast

Duck Fat Popcorn, Purple Yams, Pluots, Massaman Curry

Aah I like to think I got the best dish at the table but I know that everyone else would disagree. My friend in DC reported recently that popcorn was the new trend in the restaurant scene. I had not seen it up in NYC until here. I don't know if this was the popcorn she was refering to but wow. How amazing. All of the flavors came together really well (such a Gail Simmons term). And Pluots! How can you NOT like Pluots!! A plum/apricot cross for hybrid novice.

Grilled Prime Creekstone hanger steak

Sunchoke creamed spinach, Red Shallot Puree and Au Jus

I helped Mr. Broad's sister pick out this dish, explaining what Au Jus and Sunchokes are. I really am a good entree chooser if I do say so myself. Although it came with roasted mushrooms. Which are good if you like that sorta fungus.

Tasting of 3 Little Pigs

Berkshire Tenderloin, Crispy Wild boar belly (sausage), Spicy Hampshire Pork Booty Pate

Guesses who got this one? Right. Mr. Broad got his fair share of the swine. Mr. Broad enjoyed all of them making one of those "I'm in heaven" faces. The tenderloin (the one in the middle) was one of his favorites, and from my fork stealing I must agree.

Review

Perilla, take two. The pictures are still the same crappy quality but the food was better than I imagined. Innovative with seasonal ingredients. Mr. Broad's sister exclaimed it was one of her better meals she's ever had. And still no Harold Dietrich siting. Which makes you wonder... How often are the chefs actually at their own restaurant?...

Rating: 10. Again.

I'm an Izakaya Sensei. Self Proclaimed.

2009-08-18T21:13:00.014-04:00

Living in NYC, we regularly have visitors. You'd think that going on the Staten Island Ferry would get old but honestly it doesn't. There's nothing like seeing the skyline of Manhattan on the ferry. And it also gives you a whole new perspective.

Father in law (FIL) and my 15 year old sister-in-law (SIL) were in town visiting and SIL had mentioned that she wanted to try something different and was up for anything.

Uh oh.

You do not tell that to Mr. Broad.

I pulled the reigns in a bit on Mr. Broad and we decided that Izakaya would be a good place to go due to their variety of food. When most people think of Japanese food they think sushi. Or Maybe a Benihana steak house. A very popular Japanese food-type is an Izakaya which is considered pub food. Some of the food they serve at Iazakaya's are Yakatori. It's like small kabobs. Can't get more simpler than that. You follow?

We've been to the two other sister restaurants in NYC of this place so this was the last one we tried.

Sobo Totto

211 E 43rd street

We ordered a lot. There were four of us so we went a bit crazy. Plus the portions were real small. I swear!!

First up, pickles and pickled radishes.

You know how sometimes you try things based on appearance?? Yeah I passed on this one. The other three of them had no problem with this one. Although I remember the radish received comments that it was a bit bland.

Fried Wonton Cheese- deep fried wontons filled with cheese

This sounds a lot better than it was. Basically an Asian take on mozzarella sticks. I'd stick to the American version.

Jidori Karaage- Japanese Style Fried Chicken

I was a bit disappointed in this chicken. I've had karage (which I normally heart) before but there was nothing Japanese to this. It was moreso just American fried chicken and didn't have any tang or tenderness I'm used to.

Tuna Sashimi marinated in Garlic Soy Sauce and Wasabi

One of the best dishes of the night.

The tuna was extremely fresh and I appreciated the thickness of the cut. A bit deceiving sashimi which is normally served paper thin. But you could actually taste the tuna this time.

Mori Soba served with cold dipping sauces.

It's really just cold Asian noodles. But don't tell that to Mr. Broad...He was happily slurping away!

And now for the Yakatori. The Kabob-like portion.

Asparagus wrapped in a slice of bacon. Can't get much better than this. Also ordered was an asparagus wrapped in chicken. You can guess which one was better.

Kobe beef tongue. This was ordered by Mr. Broad's father. Just in case you wonder whom he gets it from.

Hatsu. It means Heart. Ordered by Mr. Broad because he had to one-up his father.

Japanese Green peppers served with bonito flakes

I looove japanese green peppers. They really aren't spicy but have lots of spice and flavor.

Chicken Thigh and scallion.

Tastes much better than the quality of the picture.

A view of a bunch of stuff from Mr. Broad's side

Japanese peppers... A chicken meat ball with a quail egg.

Right around here we were doing the "should-we-or-shouldn't-we" game. Do we go for one last small dish. Well what do you think we decided.

A medley of tempura.

Pretty good if not typical. Do you see that white clump on the botton left. That's not tempura, it's daikon. Was soft, mush and quite possibly the oddest texture. And tasted uh, not good. How's that for specific-ness?...

Review:

Gotta love Izakaya. It's like tapas so it allows you to sample many different varieties. And don't be fooled by the "large" pictures with this post. They aren't. All of the "kabobs" are no longer than 3 inches. The camera definitely added some weight to these. (The myth is TRUE!) And they serve the dishes out as they are ready so it's a nice rolling dinner. Lots to chose from, lots to share, and Mr. Broad gets his Japanese fill. Again.

Rating: 7.5

The Last Flea Market I was at was in Florida. This was way different.

2009-08-15T16:06:00.018-04:00

Leave it to New Yorkers to come out with a trendy/hipster flea market. I've been to the ones in Florida that has many senior citizens driving around in their motorized scooters... eaten a knish, gotten a fake watch or two.

So I was interested to see what this one would bring.

Brooklyn Flea Market
Clinton Hill/Fort Greene

The flea market was outside, although I hear come winter they move it inside? (Will have to investigate.) Not completely ginormous (compared to the Florida ones) but they really manage to pack a lot into small spaces. It is NY after all.
Full of plenty of craft vendors, food vendors, and random dare I say, Junk?
But even the junk looked COOL.

They had bracelets made out of old vinyl records.
Hand crafted Jewelry.
Furniture that likely was found on the side of the street but was now called vintage. You know the scene. And I loved it.

Scenes from the crowd:

And of course we got some eats there.
I took some pics of the bakery goods. But being limited in cash we only looked.

Another view. It was like an upscale bake sale.

Until of course Mr. Broad came to this. Hot dogs with numerous toppings. The stand was from Asiadog. And because as we all know Mr. Broad was Asian in a former lifetime, he had to get one.

Mr. Broad went for the Wangding. No, I'm not kidding. The wangding consists of bbq pork belly with onions. He was in a happy place, exclaiming "Onions on hot dogs rock." I'm telling you we're really big on the adjectives.

And because one hot dog is never enough for Mr. Broad, no matter the toppings. He had his eye on a pizza. A brick oven stove that they had brought in from SOMEWHERE??

And the Pizza. Mr. Broad went for the classic. This was a huge pizza that could have easily fed the two of us and that would have been it. Of course we can't do that though. A brick oven pizza for $7 is unheard of here. It got high marks.

I don't know what it is here in New York. Maybe it's because we are so close to New England... But lobster rolls are all the rage right now. I think it's the season? Even our grocery store is selling them. So I finally splurged for one. And by splurge, it was um, $15. The verdict? This one was not so bad. If just small. Ugh. Pricy and small. The bread was a white bread that I detected heavy on the butter/oil/grease. The lobster part was good.. but like I said small. In a word. Overpriced.

And for dessert. We had ice pops. Not pictured but with creative flavors I went with the sugar plum and tarragon while Mr. Broad had the blueberries and cardamom. Both good, mine was a bit more tart than I had expected. And they also had a guy with an ice luge shaving the ice off and the put in a sugary concoction that looked good. Because when I see an ice luge, that's what I think of doing....

Review:
It's a flea market but with a Brooklyn twist. And maybe this is how all flea markets are but I have a Floridian stereotype perspective to it all? Aah, it was fun regardless. Crafts borderlining on junk. Junk borderlining on crafts. And the food. Upscale food carts and vendors. I'd definitely be hitting this up again. If nothing else to buy a vinyl bracelet or some homemade granola.
Rating: Worth a trip for sure. (How do you give a number rating to a flea market??)

This ain't your Kentucy Fried...

2009-08-12T21:35:00.013-04:00

So it's only been what, sixteen posts since I have last written about him.

Yes I counted.

David Chang.

We completed our last Momofuku restaurant, completing the foursome of the Chang restaurants.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 1st Avenue

Just a little run down for my new readers of his restaurants...

Momofuku Ko-- the "upscale" prix fix menu that only serve about 14 people a night. Reservations only obtained over the internet.

Momofuku Ssam Bar- no reservations accepted, serves American food with Asian influences

Milk Bar- casual bakery with some savory items. Pushes the creativity limit

Lastly, Noodle Bar- capitalizing on the Ramen craze, also has other Asian influenced food and a bit more casual than Ssam Bar.

In a marketing effort to get people to their restaurants chefs are coming up with new creative ways to get people in the door. That and they are really, really smart and creative. Enter the latest craze that Chang introduced -- A fried chicken night.

Absolutely genius.

Yes for $100 total for your entire party (serves four+) you get TWO HUGE fried chickens. This is a NYC BARGAIN.

1) A Southern kind

2) An Asian kind.

... and some sides.

In typical Chang style, you need to get reservations online and we got lucky. Mr. Broad, myself, my cousin, and cousin's friend head over ready for the chicken. We sit down and they tell us it's going to take a little bit for our dinner to be ready-- do we want to start with some appetizers? Oh boy I sense an upsell. Suuure.

We start with the 7 spice potato chips:

Light, airy with a bit of kick. All I could detect was paprika of the 7 spices.

I felt like one of those Top Chef shows trying to figure out what is in the dish.
(PS- Top Chef new season starts Wednesday night!) Note- Mr. Broad looked up the actual 7 spice recipe. Aah Paprika wasn't even one of them. Oh I try.

Rice cakes with something??.... (WHY is the Momofuku website not working for me to consult it??)

These are soft, chewy ... and like little pillows of goodness, extremely addicting. This dish was a big conversation piece.
My foodie cousin pondered: What IS this sauce on the rice cakes?

Me: What ARE rice cakes??

Mr. Broad: How can I make these?!

And then the hostess were setting us up for the main feature. First up came a vegetable platter that reminded Mr. Broad and I of our travels to Thailand (don't I sound so cultured??) when they put greenery in front of you because you are about to eat very spicy food.

mu shu pancakes (no pictures, but come on google it- it's like eating peking duck) a vegetable platter. And spreading sauces for the pancakes.

Sauces:

Hoisin

Ginger-scallion

Jalapeño-garlic

Bibim- the same sauce used in the rice cakes. (OH!, that was what that sauce was in the rice cakes...)

Other sauce shots:

And the chicken. The picture really does not do it justice to HOW much chicken this was. Mr. Broad and cousin discussed that both chickens were brined. I'm telling you, the foodie talk was in full swing.

On the right- Southern style-- a buttermilk and OLD BAY seasoned fried chicken. All white meat. Mr. Broad doesn't typically like white meat but he was chowing down on this. Quite possibly the juiciest white meat we've ever had.

On the left- Korean style fried chicken. It was thrice fried. wait. repeat. THREE TIMES FRIED. Marinated in the bibim sauce which is my new favorite. And some more stuff I'm sure to make it extra tasty.

A blurry picture

Review:

Another review of another Chang restaurant. I mean, how much can you say? First off, we received stellar service. We were constantly being attended to from refills on the sauces to extra pancakes, the staff had their A game on. The quality of the food was top notch comfort food. What my pictures don't show is that with the mu shu pancakes you took some chicken off, some sauces, some veggies and made a little (or big) crepe roll. Because eating the fried chicken straight up would be too normal. Comparisons were made to other fried chicken we've had and this one took the prize. While there is a NYC price attached to it and yes, you can get the KFC bucket for $9.99... indulge. It's worth it. And tastes just as good the next night as leftovers.

Rating: 10

PS- And don't think they just do food. This was some type of watermelon vodka goodness.

Scenes from Yankee Stadium

2009-08-09T21:34:00.007-04:00

... subtitled: Hip Hip Jorge!!

I was born into a Yankee family. Even with four years at a University in (gasp!) Boston, I came back to my family wearing my Yankee navy blue hat.

Okay truth be told, the hat has only come out when they were doing really, really well. But now that I am in NYC again, I'm happy to now say Go Yanks!

The Yankees and the Mets both got new stadiums this season cause well, they are New York and all. So when Mr. Broad and I got asked to our first Yankee game... it was time to dust off the hat!

The big bragging rights at stadiums is the quality of the food. I didn't do one of these "sample all the food" type of thing cause it was a Tuesday night and uh, the prices don't exactly have a salary cap on it. (Poor baseball joke, I know.)

But I still took the pictures:

Lobel's Carving station:

How often do you see a carving station and people curing meat at a baseball station? I don't. Lobel's is a top notch butchery in the city and been around forever. I have never been but this picture tells me that Mr. Broad and I will have to make a visit.

Living in New York City, they are not afraid to let you know how many calories you are inhaling. I think the rule is if you have more than 8 restaurants in the city then you have to post the calorie count. Nothing like taking the picture to really turn you away from NEVER EATING AGAIN.

Popcorn. Check out the Souvenir bucket.

Garlic Fries.

And this is what we did eat. Calorie counter: 300 and we shared them! Woot! They were good, obviously garlicy and kind of stuck with you a little afterwards- like all 9 innings.

Don't you worry, I did watch some of the game.

My proof:

Review:

The stadium was fun, the food was good and best of all... the Yankees Won!!

Who they played, however, I still don't remember...

The Reaction is Always the Same No Matter the "Level" of Celebrity I see

2009-08-04T11:08:00.007-04:00

omg omg omg

[giddy giddy]
omg omg omg

I just saw a celeb. Well SEVERAL. And clearly had to share.

Sorry I am swaying from food because this is just too exciting and it IS my blog.

I'm thinking I may add a section of Celeb Spottings by Mrs. Broad... thoughts? It happens so infrequently so I won't be swaying that far from food. Have no fear!

1) Food Celebrity Chef John Besh. With appearances on The Next Iron Chef and Top Chef Masters just to name a few. Hanging outside near my office building. (WHY??? WHY??)

We made eyes.

See it's somewhat food related.

2) Selena Gomez. Disney Tween sensation, hailed to be the next Miley Cyrus. She was sitting DIRECTLY behind me at a Broadway show last night. She signed my Playbill.

Confession: I had to ask a Mom who was taking a picture of her daughter with Selena who that was.

2.5) Selena's friend who I'm PRETTY sure is on the show with her. But I didn't know who she was and now want to send out a blog-apology because I asked Selena and not you for your autograph even though you were sitting right next to her and others were asking for yours. Sorry. You're a .5 because I am not sure if this was you or not. But I think you're famous.

3) Christopher Macdonald. Okay. When sharing this with Mr. Broad he was most excited about this one. He sat a couple rows over at the show I was at. Most famous for playing SHOOTER MCGAVIN in Happy Gilmore, props to a coworker for the pull.

4) And who was sitting next to Shooter? Josh Gad. Distinctive looking actor as a somewhat cross between Jack Black and Jonah Hill he was in the movie 21 as the roommate. I'm still unsure as the connection between Josh Gad and Shooter.

5) Okay. And now the ultimate "Celeb" that can trump them all. And EVEN found on IMDB... Who KNEW???

Warren Buffett. I type this and he was about 30 feet away.

Whoa.

I am Star Struck. I could never make it in LA.

Sometimes I Wonder How Restaurants Get Their Name.

2009-08-02T21:04:00.013-04:00

The other week Mr. Broad's cousin (we're going to call Mutton- he'll understand) was in town doing cool and hipster stuff and we were excited to hang out with him and go to dinner. He lives in DC and we would hang out frequently when we lived there. And so now it was our time to impress.

DISCLAIMER: My camera was not charged. You think I would learn?? I did not. And still have not as I have another post coming up with the camera pictures.

...iPhone to the rescue!

Prune

54 E 1st Street

This place is recommended as one of the hotspots for brunch but we went the dinner route. I had heard they are known for some of their offal (internal organs for the amateur) which is what got Mr. Broad all excited.

Yes.

Dinner items that well, depending on your palate, might not make you salivate.

Roasted Marrow Bones, Parsley Salad, Sea Salt

Uh yeah.

I just said Bone Marrow. Mr. Broad made like a caveman and dug right into the bones. I'm not sure how many of my faithful and trusty readers have eaten bone marrow (feel free to comment) but I had to try it for my blog's sake. And the verdict? It's a bit more gelatinous for my liking. After you get through the gel like material (fat?) the beef is soft and smooth. The marrow part is actually really good. It may take me a couple times to warm up to bone marrow but in the meantime, Mr. Broad was in a happy place.

A blurry view of the Bone Marrow on a piece of toast

Fried Sweetbreads with Bacon and Capers

On a kick to try something outside of my comfort zone, I went with the sweetbreads. I have had them before and remember liking them but it's not a taste I could recall. Sweetbreads is a deceiving name for those not familiar.

It's a Thymus/Pancreas Gland

Mutton and I shared this dish and had no complaints. It's fried and is remarkably tender and soft. Somewhat like a sweet, soft chicken taste (because doesn't it all taste like that?? um, except bone marrow) Mutton and I had no problem with this dish.

Grilled Swordfish with Corn, Arugula, and Bacon

Okay. Now for our entrees we all went a bit more "normal." At least for us. Mutton and I both ordered this one. The entrees aren't the biggest portions for the price but the taste made up for it. The corn/arugula/bacon side was good I just remembered playing a "where's waldo" game looking for any bacon pieces.

Wild Striped Bass with Cockles, Razor Clams and Chorizo

Mr. Broad and I have had cockles before while visiting Thailand and it's similar to a small clam. Mr. Broad thoroughly enjoyed this dish as apparent by his clean plate and when asking him comments he remarked that the fish was well seasoned and the clams/cockles all went together well. I might add that he did have a lot of beers beforehand so his comments were plentiful. And not just about the food.

String Beans with Ricotta Cheese

We sprung for the "special" side dish and loved it. An unexpectedly great combination, the only thing I would recommend is if the ratio was larger for string beans to ricotta cheese.

Trifle with Brandied Cherries and Homemade Ladyfingers

We don't often get dessert when we are out, but it was Mutton's birthday so we splurged. And well, the portions were small so trust me we didn't have a problem. Mr. Broad put his hands up and said he was out this round.

Oh please, he picked up his spoon and dug in as fast as anyone.

And another view because I'm trying REALLY trying here with the iPhone camera..

Review:

Prune is a great East Village restaurant that as we found out, is pretty popular. People were still sitting down to eat at 11pm! Typical in that it is a small and cozy New York restaurant. Untypical because well, veal hearts aren't for everyone. They are known to have a real quality brunch worth the wait that I guess Mr. Broad and I will have to check out one day. But for now, I've had my fill of bone marrow.

Rating: 8.5

The Presidential Treatment

2009-07-28T22:29:00.007-04:00

Dude wasn't the Fourth of July three weeks ago? Errg...Yeah just DEAL!

BBQ and Fourth of July go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Like rain and Seattle

Like Bravo and fabulous reality TV...

So we decided to take our guests to one of our favorites.

Hill Country

30 West 26th Street

Any place with tableclothes other than red checkered or brown paper is not a true bbq establishment. This is a large restaurant (by regular standards and NYC standards) with an upstairs and downstairs. Complete with two bars and even a stage downstairs where they play live (and FREE!!) music.

Actually let's back up. We arrive in there all ready to get our BBQ on and the hostess escorts us to our table. "This is where Bill likes to sit when he comes." We all laugh thinking "huh?" and then see the sign.

We were sitting in the Presidentail Booth. Because if we're going to enjoy BBQ you might as well enjoy it from Bubba's seat.

Onto the food.

This is what you would call "classy" fast food. You take your card to the front of the line and point to what you want and they wrap it up in paper . Why classy? Because they cut it up in front of you and if you are lucky like Mrs. TWH was, they'll give you some tastes to help you with your decision.

Beef Ribs (the pork ones were sold out) and some Beer Can Chicken

Hey I didn't say they were big on presentation.

Lone shot of a Rib-

Fatty. Meaty. Good.

Other meats that may have been consumed but do not take pretty pictures were:

Beef Shoulder and Briscuit

And let's not forget any sides! Apologies to the baked beans I think I was just too busy eating to take a picture.

Succotash with some Moist Briscuit down in the foreground

Mac 'n Cheese- My personal favorite. Maybe not the best mac in the city but pretty darn tasty. PS- I take Mac 'n Cheese suggestions. And don't you DARE say 'Smac.

Mr. Broad had been raving about his favorite dessert and he pretty much talked Mr. TWH to get the (Wait for it)...

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake. A vanilla cupcake with peanut butter icing with jelly filling. It's a bit dry for me but come on I could just take a spoon full of the icing and be all set. Note Mr. Broad did not get one because he opted for seconds of BBQ.

And the center filled with Jelly. Note the lights were dimmed, it was the end of the night so my amateur "food" setting wasn't cooperating.

Review:

Smoked Meat. Does it get any better than this? I challenge you. Good friends and might I add a FREE LIVE band to provide some bluesy tunes as you eat?? Quite possibly one of NYC's best kept secret. The word Free and NYC are not often in the same sentence. Yah, we're fans. Although next up for BBQ Mr. Broad and I want to schlep to Harlem for Dinosuar BBQ!

Review: Mr. Broad and I were split between and 8 and an 8.5. I'd go back so that's all that really matters.

I'm like totally Blog Famous. Kinda

2009-07-28T12:29:00.003-04:00

I interrupt these regular posts to tell you of my recent cross with "fame". Well, blog fame that is...

This past Friday I received a WONDERFUL shout out from the Foodie Blogroll community AND from Leftover Queen! I was flattered. If my blog could blush, it would.

Every Friday they highlight foodie blogs and I got highlighted this past week.

This blog is written by a foodie couple who recently moved to New York City and are enjoying exploring their new home city by dining at restaurants. Their blog posts reviews of the placed they enjoy (and didn’t). So many cuisines! This is a great blog to check out if you find yourself traveling to The Big Apple

Now I have to remember to be a more active poster... DOH!

But have no fear. They are comin'! And I apologize to my foodie friends I dined with that are looking for their 2 minutes of blog fame. It's a comin'!

Cause There's Always Room for Fro Yo! (And Toppings)

2009-07-20T22:45:00.004-04:00

The next morning when TWHs were in town, I went with the girls and we did a bit more of the walking/eating thing.

Knowing Mrs. TWH's recent attraction for frozen yogurt I took them to one of my new finds.

16 Handles

153 2nd ave (between 9th and 10th street)

A complete self serve frozen yogurt shop where they weigh your creation with toppings and all at the end. You never realized frozen yogurt could be soo good. And yet so expensive.

Note: Peanut butter cups bring the weight up.

Topping included the regular fruit to the candy section where sometimes you often think you might as well just buy a freaken candy bar.

Highlights on the topping buffet include (but are not limited to):

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Lychee

Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles

Captain Crunch

Cookie dough

Brownie bites

Chocolate covered pretzels

Jelly Beans...

I could keep going on. But at least the fro yo is fat free!! Right??

Just another angle-- further down was the candy section

The fro yo's vary in flavor from the tarts (Margarita...Eurotart) to the more "Traditional" (Cookies and Cream, Peanut Butter, NY Cheesecake)

A fun place on a walking tour near the East Village/Union Square. We took a picture of our three concoctions posing together.

Guesses which one is mine?

Clockwise from the top:

TWH (She's partial to the fruity/cereal toppings)

Mrs. Broad (I had to put the cherry on top. duh)

Spicy Lee (Hidden underneath was coffee yogurt which she suggested readers avoid)

Review:

Right across the street from this place is a pathetic looking Tasti D Lite. It's almost fun to look at while you chow down on your own creation. Anyway, it's fro yo. How can you not love?? And did I mention it's near my office?

Lunch anyone?

Rating: 10. I stand behind good fro yo.

Note: Mr. Broad has not been but clearly questioned the 10 rating.

Somewhere in K Town

2009-07-18T12:20:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the beginning of the Fourth of July posts.

Mr. Broad and I had some great friends in town-- Mr. and Mrs. Talking with Hands (TWH) and Spicy Lee.

Thursday night Spicy Lee came into town and we were at the Bryant Park Grill drinking (pitchers of) margaritas to toast one of my cousin's birthday when we "picked her up" from her bus stop. FYI picking people up when they come into NYC is a bit different from the suburbs ... and even moreso when you are SEVERAL margaritas deep. Oops.

Soo. Mr. Broad and I both stumbled the streets with Spicy Lee with no food in our bellies (ROOKIE MOVE) when we decided that we needed something. And since I am now a Korean EXPERT...

Enter K Town. Or Koreatown. It is located between 31st to 36th street between 5th and 6th ave.

Somewhere on K Town

In the 30's I guess??

I'd like to say I remembered where we ate. Or what we ate. But I was approaching a 3 day weekend and Mr. Broad and I kicked it off appropriately.

Korean BBQ is the name of the game here. We sat down and I guess ordered a bunch of stuff. And then you throw it on your flame and go to town. Like my other Korean experience they give you a lot of sides and you have no idea what you are eating but you try all the same.

Interesting Math Fact: Camera + Alcohol = Lots of Pictures.

Some sides... and the soon to be flame

Pork Belly

Dumplings

Something Else on the flame

A salad of some sort?

Something else random that I remember really liking...

Straight up garlic to roast on the flame. Some kimchee in the background.

Review:

I promise that my reviews will get better. It's not often that I imbibe like this.... Sure it's not. I can't even give it a rating. It was perfect for the mood we were in and quenched some alcohol. But not all of it as we found out the next morning...

Rating: Worth it to go back if we knew where we were.

The blurry shot from above. We were done.

How Long Would You Wait For A NYC Slice? Discuss.

2009-07-12T19:59:00.009-04:00

Traditional NYC pizza is thin, loaded with cheese, oil, and somewhat floppy so the best method to eat it is by folding it. That's how I grew up at least.

So a couple of weeks ago, we stayed on our side of the river and headed to Williamsburg for one of the new hotspots for NYC pizza. Hot, trendy we are...

Motorino

319 Graham Ave

We sat in the back and ordered. And waited. and waited. for FORTY FIVE MINUTES for our APPETIZERS. Were they picking the tomatoes for our salad?? Perhaps pasturizing the cheese? I normally don't say much but you know it's bad when even Mr. Broad is calming me down. He was still in the "excuses" stage.

Finally. Out came:

Arugula Salad pears, figs, smoked bacon, gorgonzola

Pretty good for a starter salad although a bit more dressing than I would have liked. Although might I add figs are a bit underutilized. They were a nice touch because I hadn't had them in awhile but I don't think it tied the salad together. Or I was just in a bad mood.

Panzanela salad- Tomatoes, bread and some vegetables.

We have made this before so Mr. Broad decided to order it and see how ours stacked up. He enjoyed it, quoted "fresh" ingredients... The serving was rather large but in my opinion... I think the salad that Mr. Broad and I made at home was better :)

Appetizer mode was over. And then came the pizzas. Well not really. ANOTHER FORTY FIVE MINUTES WENT BY. and THEN came the pizzas. After the waitress telling us numerous times just another two more minutes and we told them that this is a bit ridiculous. They assured us they would take care of us with dessert. That calmed us down a little bit until I wondered how long it would take for that to come.

Ugliese burrata, broccolini, sausage fresh chilies garlic

I must say we were torn over the type of pizzas to order. The broccolini on this one called to me. Um yummmm. Everything came together really well on this pizza. Except for the middle. Where it sogged down because I guess the dough was too thin.

Margharetia DOC mozzarella di bufala, tomato basil

We both felt obligated to try the "plain" pizza. Pretty standard, however is it just me but I have a problem when you get the mozzarella one and they throw the cheese on it so haphazardly that you can have an entire piece of pizza without cheese on it. Grrr. Regardless, Mr. Broad liked this one. I was privy to the broccolini/sausage one. Look closely and you can find the cheeseless slice.

Review:

I don't know what it is about "brick ovens" but people just go nuts over them. Don't get me wrong it was good pizza. And it maybe coulda have been great pizza if we got it in time. No pictures of our free gelato ice cream. It really didn't warrant it because the scoop was pretty pathetic. Oh I don't know... I've read several articles raving about it but I think it was slightly overrated. I'm glad we went to try it but next time I have about several hours to wait for pizza? I'd head over to Artichoke Pizza but that's another post...

Rating: 6 Maybe if we got it at a reasonable time the rating would have been higher?